Incoming
by HoleInTheWorld
Summary: New Summary. In the middle of her grandparent’s vow renewal, Rory finds Jess crashing back into her life. Maybe for good this time.
1. All the Pretty Things Are Going To Hell

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

A/N: Just for the sake of my sanity, let's say Rory already talked to Chris about the first time Lorelai kissed him, but Lorelai doesn't know yet that he's there.

**A/N 2: The first few chapters have a lot of text from the show, especially the scenes Jess's presence doesn't directly affect.**

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"Incoming." Lorelai grabbed a drink off the table next to her. "Ready."

Luke turned around to see who was coming, but his attention was caught by someone down the hall. "I'll be right back."

"You'll what?" She went to chase after him, but an older couple stepped in her path. "Lorelai! It's so good to see you again." She looked around wide-eyed then took a big sip of her champagne.

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When he got to the end of the hall, Luke grabbed his nephew and dragged him around the corner. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too, Uncle Luke. I heard Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore were renewing their vows. Thought I'd stop by, ya know, give 'em my best wishes."

"You only offer the bride best wishes."

"What?" Jess looked at him, confused.

Luke shook his head. "Never mind. How the hell did you get in here?"

He smirked. "You'd be surprised what putting on a tie can get you." Turning serious, he added, "Also I said I was Rory's date."

"Rory. Does she know you're here?"

"No, and-"

"Leave her alone, Jess."

"And she's not going to know. I just…I wanted to see her."

"Jess…" Luke said sympathetically. "You can't…you had your chance with her. Hell, you had two chances, and you screwed up."

"I know!" He yelled then ran a hand through his hair. "I know. I guess being a coward runs in the family."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Look around Luke. What are you doing here?"

"Lorelai asked-"

"Of course she did. Because Lorelai says 'jump', and you say 'how high?' I see that leash is still firmly attached."

Luke glared at his nephew. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Because we haven't heard that before." He pointed at Luke. "You know what? At least I had the guts to tell Rory how I felt. You've been waiting for Lorelai to notice you since the first time she walked into the diner."

Luke was getting mad. "I seem to remember you also having the guts to walk out on her. Twice."

"You have no idea." Jess growled.

"Of course I have no idea. Rory doesn't even have an idea, and you actually talked to her upon occasion."

"I'm sorry if our bonding time wasn't enough for you, but my idea of fun isn't really discussing my feelings with someone I barely know."

"Someone you barely know? I'm your uncle."

"Because you were always there for me."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I guess between taking you in and defending you to the entire town, I forgot to be there."

Jess turned around and started to walk away.

"Hey!" Luke yelled. "Where are you going?!"

"Out!"

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Lorelai smiled when an arm reached around from behind her holding a martini. "Hey." She said, taking the glass. "You are so lucky I remembered…" She trailed off when she turned around. "Christopher."

"Hey Lor."

"Hey, uh, Chris. What are you doing here?"

"Emily invited me. So the wedding was nice."

"Uh." She saw Luke walking towards their table. "Yea, it was great." She handed him the drink and walked away.

"Luke."

He looked up and gave her a small smile. "Hey, sorry I ditched you. I saw-"

"Christopher's here." She said, cutting him off.

His smile faded. "Yea. I know. I saw him at the ceremony."

"Rory didn't keep me up."

"What?"

"The day of the reenactment. When I didn't feel good. It wasn't because Rory kept me up. And it wasn't just a bad day."

"What happened?"

"Nothing. I swear. Christopher's father died and I went over there to see how he was. All we did was talk. Please believe me."

He sighed. "I do."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Because you are so entitled to hate me right now."

"I don't hate you."

"I'm a big fat filthy liar. How can you believe anything I say? I mean for all you know, our whole relationship could be a big-"

"Lorelai."

"What?"

"Do you want to dance?"

"Why would you want to dance with a big fat liar?"

He took her hand and pulled her onto the dance floor.

"Luke…"

"Shh." He pulled her closer and kissed her forehead.

She laid her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"I know."

She lifted her head up to look at him. "If it makes you feel better, his mom was there."

"Lorelai."

"What?"

"Just dance, okay?"

She put her head back on his shoulder and let out a sigh. "Yea."

Christopher stood next to the bar and watched the exchange between Luke and Lorelai. He couldn't actually hear what they were saying but he understood why Emily had come to him. Things looked to be turning serious between them, and he knew a diner owner from Stars Hollow would never be good enough for a Gilmore, especially not in Emily's eyes. And they certainly couldn't have someone else taking the place as Rory's father. That would be simply unacceptable. He turned around and ordered himself another drink. It looked like it was gonna be a long night.

After a few dances, Luke and Lorelai headed back to their table. Lorelai sat down and looked around. "Hey, have you seen Rory?"

Luke sat next to her shook his head. "She's probably around some where."

"Probably being tortured by some relative or other that she's never met but still expects her to know who they are" She stated, knowing from experience that it was probably a good guess.

Luke cringed a little. "Your family makes me miss Liz and TJ."

"Hey!" Christopher sat down in the chair next to Luke and put his drink on the table in front of him. "So, Lor, where's that lovely daughter of ours?"

"I don't know, Chris. I think I saw Totsy after her before, so she's probably hiding somewhere."

"Remember when we went to that funeral and we both got Totsied twice?"

"Umm, no."

"No? Come on, it was raining. You were wearing your 'Hell is for children' t-shirt, your mom flipped because we snuck that flask in?"

"Huh, sorry. No memory at all."

"Hmm." He shook his head. "So how's the Inn?" He turned his attention to Luke. "You know, we had lunch at the Inn last month."

"I know.

"The Inn is fine." Lorelai jumped in. "Everything is fine."

Marilyn walked over to the table. "Honey, so sorry to interrupt. Your parents want a picture of just the wedding party in front of the cake before they cut it."

Lorelai nodded at her. "Okay, I'll just, uh, go find Rory."

"I think I saw her heading off that way," Marilyn pointed down one of the hallways. "With that darling blonde boy. I've forgiven her for not noticing that I was chatting with him earlier."

"Really, well, I'll go get Rory and meet you back at the cake." Lorelai told her, as she stood up.

Luke stood to follow her. "I'll go with you.

Christopher finished his drink then got up to follow them down the hall.

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Lorelai walked down the hall looking for Rory with Luke on her heels.

"Listen, uh, I think we need to talk." Luke said, trying to get her attention

"I know, I know." She told him, distracted. "We will. I just - let me try to find -" She opened the door to the bridal dressing room.

Seeing Lorelai, Rory and Logan jumped apart "Hm. Grandma wants a picture." Lorelai said to her daughter.

"Of this?" Rory exclaimed.

"Rory, what are you doing?"

"Mom-"

"You're at your grandparents' wedding! Renewal - vowal - thing. Whatever. They're right out there. God, Rory, I swear!"

"Rory? Rory's in here?" Christopher asked, pushing his way into the room.

"Okay, don't, Chris, it's all right." Lorelai said.

"What the hell are you doing in here with my daughter?" Christopher tried to get to Logan but Lorelai held him back.

"I-" Logan started.

"Get away from her. That is my daughter! I will kick your ass! I will kick your ass, you little weasel!"

Lorelai pushed him out of the room. "Get out!"

"What the hell is going on?" Luke called, trying to see who was in the room.

"Who's that guy, Lorelai?" Christopher asked.

"Christopher, calm down! You're drunk!" She yelled at him.

"Calm down? There's a guy in there pawing my daughter!"

"What guy?" Luke asked "There's a guy in there with Rory?" He barged into the room to see Logan and Rory collecting their things.

"Oh, my God, Luke!" Lorelai yelled.

"Hey! Get your hands off her. I mean it. Right now! Hands in the air, I want to see hands in the air!" He yelled at Logan.

"Out!" She pushed him out of the room, then slammed the door and smiled at Rory and Logan. "I think you guys better use the back way out of here."

"But, Dad…Luke…"

"I will take care of Dad and Luke. Please go, now, go!" Rory walked out, but Logan hesitated. "So, um, you must be Logan."

"Uh, yeah."

"I'm Lorelai."

"Nice to meet you. Okay, well, I'd better-"

"Yeah." Once she was sure he was gone, Lorelai went back to the hallway where she found Luke and Christopher arguing.

"It's none of your business what's going on with Rory." Christopher yelled at Luke.

"It sure the hell is my business."

"Oh, guys, please!" Lorelai yelled.

"Rory is my daughter. Mine." Chris said, ignoring her.

"Oh, really? Well then, where the hell were you when she got the chicken pox and would only eat mashed potatoes for a week, or where were you when she graduated high school, or started college? Huh? Who the hell moved her mattress into her dorm and out of her dorm and back into her dorm again?"

"Luke, please. This is not the time." Lorelai told him.

"Where I was doesn't concern you. Rory is my daughter, and Lorelai's daughter, and that's it." Christopher argued.

"Well, I'm with Lorelai!"

"For now!"

"What does that mean, for now? What is that, a threat?"

"Lorelai and I belong together. Everyone knows it! I know it, Emily knows it!"

"What?"

He turned to Lorelai. "Look, I blew it, okay? I know that I blew it. You waited, and I didn't come through, and now you're with him. But it's not too late!"

"Chris, don't."

"It's not too late. I know it's not too late. Emily told me it wasn't too late! I mean, that's why I'm here, okay? I know you're with him. But it's for now, it's not forever. It's just for now. I know that."

"Luke, I don't know what he's talking about!" Lorelai pleaded.

Luke shook his head. "I got to get out of here."

"Oh, Luke, wait-"

"Please, just, just-" Christopher said to her.

"Christopher, get out of my way!" She stepped around him and chased after Luke.

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Rory leaned on the sink in the bathroom after fixing her hair and straightening her clothes. "Oh my God. What am I doing?" Her mother's words rang in her head. _You're at your grandparents' wedding! They're right out there. _She hit her hands against the sink, then looked at her reflection. "This is not you." She said to herself. She shook her head. "Well, now you know what it's like." She checked her appearance one more time before leaving the bathroom.

She walked out to the hallway and right into a soft warm body. She stumbled a little, but a pair of arms steadied her. "I'm sor-"

She looked up and her eyes widened. "Jess." She took a step away from him. "What…Why…What are you doing here?"

"Ror-"

"No. No, I don't want to know. Just-" She held her hands up in front of her and backed away. "I have to go."

She turned and ran back towards the bridal dressing room to find her mother, but ran into Luke instead. "Luke. Where's Mom?"

"I don't know." He said gruffly. "Probably down there with Christopher." He gestured down the hall.

"Can you take me home?"

"Let's go." He walked out the door with Rory right behind him.

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Lorelai ran through the ballroom looking for Luke. Christopher was right behind her trying to get her attention.

"Will you stop?" Christopher grabbed her arm, and spun her around to face him.

She pulled away from him. "Get away from me, Christopher."

"I just want to talk."

"Get some coffee, Christopher!"

"This wasn't the way I wanted it to go down. I wanted to get you alone and - what are you doing?" He asked when she started to walk away.

"I'm going after Luke!"

"Oh, there you are!" Marilyn said then turned to Emily. "I've got her!" She pulled Lorelai toward the cake. "Oh, you cannot keep a room full of Anglo-Saxons waiting for cake this long! They start to form more clubs. Take her, take her, take her!" She looked behind Lorelai and frowned. "Where's Rory?"

"Lorelai." Emily said. "I thought you were going to find Rory."

She glared at her mother. "You and me, we're done." She ground out before walking away.

A shocked Emily watched Lorelai leave then turned to look questioningly at Richard.

A/N: Next chapter will be posted soon. Hopefully. I have yet to write it but it's swimming around in my head. So let's hope I am in a writing kind of mood very soon. ~Casey


	2. Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

A/N: Just for the sake of my sanity, lets say Rory already talked to Chris about the first time Lorelai kissed him, but Lorelai doesn't know yet that he's there.

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Lorelai ran outside just in time to see the tail lights of the jeep disappear from view. "Shit!" She stomped her foot and the heel broke off her shoe, causing her to lose her balance and fall over on the lawn. "God damn it!" She yelled as she picked up her heel. She stood up and took her shoes off "Could this day get any worse?" She spun around when she heard some one chuckling. "Apparently it can."

"That was graceful." Jess pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on.

"I don't have time for this, Jess." She started to walk back inside, but stopped at Jess's voice.

"Rory left."

"What?"

"She just left with Luke."

"Wonderful. Could today suck slightly more." She said more to herself than him.

"Well, actually…"

"Shut up. Do you have a car?"

"Yea, why-"

"Good. You're driving me back to Stars Hollow. Let's go."

"Am I?"

"Jess. Please."

He nodded. "Alright. C'mon."

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Rory leaned her head against the glass of her window and sighed. Why did seeing Jess suddenly make her feel guilty about what happened with Logan. Sure, she knew it shouldn't have happened at her grandparents' vow renewal, but she hadn't regretted it until she ran into her ex-boyfriend. Why did he always have to walk back into her life when she was finally getting it together? She closed her eyes and tried to will the look on Jess's face when she ran into him to disappear from her mind.

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Luke looked over at Rory when he heard her sigh, and shook his head. He watched her for a minute, before breaking the silence. "Rory."

She turned to look at him. "Yea?"

"You alright?"

"What? Oh, yea. I'm great." She lied. "Peachy."

"No, you aren't. You don't use words like 'peachy' when you're okay."

"Sure I do. I use fruit words all the time. Like…umm…orange."

"Rory."

"I don't know. I just…After the thing with Logan-"

"Logan?"

"The guy in the room."

"Oh."

"Yea. So after we left the dressing room, Logan took off and after I came out of the bathroom, I ran into Jess."

Luke shook his head. "I thought he left."

Rory's jaw dropped. "You…you knew he was there?"

"I'm sorry, Rory. I told him to leave and I thought he did. I didn't think you'd see him."

She gave him a fake smile. "It's okay. It's not your fault. It's just…every time he shows up I get-"

"Rory." He interrupted her. "You don't have to…"

She nodded and put her head back on the window.

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"So, ah, why were you at my parents' wedding?"

Jess looked over at Lorelai. "Well, you know how I love weddings." He smirked.

Lorelai shook her head. "Luke saw you didn't he? That's why he ran off."

Jess pulled the car into a plaza and turned off the engine. "Lorelai…"

She looked at him questioningly. "Jess?"

"I think you need to know something."

"Okay. And what is that?"

"Luke is a coward. Alright? The guy has been in love with you for years, and he's too much of a coward to tell you but I think you should know because if there is a chance that you feel the same way then Luke deserves to be happy. Coward or not, he should have his chance to be happy."

"Wow." She nodded. "I did not know you knew that many words."

"Yea…wait, what?"

"C'mon kid." She got out of the car and started walking to the diner in the plaza.

He grabbed the keys and chased after her. "Lorelai. What are you doing?"

In the minute it took him to get inside, she already got a table and a cup of coffee. He watched her take a sip of her drink, then slid into the booth, across from her. "What are we doing here?"

"I don't know about you, but I'm drinking this really awful coffee." She said, taking another sip.

"Lorelai…"

She put her cup down and leaned on the table. "Jess, Luke and I have been together since about a week after your mom's wedding."

Jess nodded slowly. "Huh. So my whole speech…"

"Unnecessary? Yea."

"Yea."

"So," She took another sip of her coffee. "What were you really doing at my parents' wedding…renewal…why were you there?" He answered with a pointed look in her direction. "Rory. Right." She almost felt bad for him when she thought about walking in on Rory and Logan. Almost. "You broke her heart."

"Well, it went both ways."

The waitress walked over, effectively cutting off Lorelai's response. "Hey, what can I get you guys?"

"Oh." Lorelai said. "Umm, just some more coffee for me. A lot more. You know what, do you have a vat?"

"Nothing for me." Jess said.

"What are you talking about?" Lorelai asked once the waitress was gone.

"Rory didn't tell you what happened at her dorm?"

She shook her head. "She told me that you showed up. She wouldn't say what happened."

"Well, it's not my place to tell you. If Rory didn't want you to know, then it's probably for good reason."

"Jess, do you really want to find out what happens when people withhold information from Lorelai Gilmore?"

"Nothing. It was my own fault. No way she was gonna trust me after what I did." He was now talking to himself. "I walked out. Just because I walked out on my whole life, it doesn't mean she could do it."

"You asked her to run away with you?" Her voice stopped his rambling.

He had no idea how she could figure that out from his random babbling, but from all the babbling she does he's not that surprised. "Yea."

"You really think either of you would have been happy?"

He put his head in his hands then looked up at Lorelai. "Why are you being civil to me?"

"Cause you gave me the Luke speech." She gave him a huge grin. "You love him."

He just glared at her.

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When Luke pulled up in front of the Gilmore house, he turned the engine off and looked over at Rory. She was facing away from him so he couldn't tell if she was awake of not. He hated to disturb her, but he couldn't let her sit in the car all night. "Rory."

She shifted a little and mumbled incoherently, but didn't wake up. Luke smiled a little as he walked to the passenger's side, lifted Rory's sleeping form into his arms, and carried her into the house.

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"Stop!" Lorelai yelled at Jess just as he was about to pass the diner.

He slammed on the brakes. "What?"

"I wanna go to Luke's."

He pulled in across the street from the diner. "There you go. Your coffee in exchange for my mental health."

"That's what happens when you associate with Gilmores." She got out of the car and started towards the diner, but stopped when she realized Jess wasn't following. "Well come on. I'm hungry."

Jess rolled down his window. "What?"

"I'm hungry. Luke's not here. So you need to cook for me."

Jess rolled his window back up and got out of the car. "We were just at a diner. Why didn't you eat there?"

She grabbed her key out of her purse and opened the door. "Because," She said, turning around to look at Jess. "Then I would have had to pay for it. And here I can get you to make it for free."

He walked inside and immediately went behind the counter to start the coffee maker. "You're in a pretty good mood for someone whose boyfriend just walked out on her."

"Yea. Hi. I have this really good idea where we don't talk about that. Thanks." She sat at the counter and put her coat on the stool next to her. "Pie please."

"Apple or cherry?" He grabbed a plate and a knife and looked at her expectantly.

"Or?"

"Right. What was I thinking?" He put a good sized piece of each on her plate and handed it to her, along with a fork. "Enjoy." When she just sat there he raised an eyebrow then realized what he forgot. "Coffee." He flipped the mug in front of Lorelai over and filled it to the brim. "Is that everything?"

She looked at her pie and coffee, then up at Jess. "Could you get me a pony?" She asked sweetly.

"Eat your pie."

She sighed dramatically. "Fine." She took a bite of the pie. "Be that way."

"How long is this gonna take? Because it's…" He looked at his watch. "Wow. One o'clock."

She grabbed his wrist. "Oh my God." She dropped his arm and looked up at him. "I'd say time sure flies when you're having fun, but…ya know. It's you." She shrugged. "You can head upstairs if your tired. I'm all set down here. Got my pie. Got a whole pot of coffee. I'm good."

He nodded and refilled her coffee. "Goodnight."

"Night Jess." Once he was upstairs she laid her head on the counter and sighed.

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Rory yawned as she rolled over to look at her bedside clock. 3:34. She climbed out of bed and looked curiously at the suit she had on, before she remembered falling asleep on the drive back with Luke. She quickly changed into her pajamas, then decided to go upstairs to check on her mother. She quietly opened the door and jumped a little when she saw Luke asleep at the kitchen table. She crouched down next to him, wondering how he could possibly be comfortable then shook her head and went back to her room, knowing that if Luke was asleep on the table then Lorelai wasn't home. After shutting her door, she pulled out the top drawer of her dresser and dumped all the books in there onto her bed. She then climbed back under her comforter and reached for one of the books. She opened to the first page and smiled at the tiny, cramped handwriting in the margins.

A/N: I have been off from school for the last few days so I had time to write, but I have to go back tomorrow. Therefore I probably won't update for a couple days. Sorry, but my education comes first. Casey


	3. Sense of Doubt

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

A/N: Just for the sake of my sanity, let's say Rory already talked to Chris about the first time Lorelai kissed him, but Lorelai doesn't know yet that he's there.

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BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Jess rolled over swatted at the clock on his nightstand a few times, before he remembered that he set Luke's clock last night so he wouldn't hit the snooze button and go back to sleep. He groaned as he got out of bed and walked over to Luke's nightstand. He looked at the time, 4:45, before he yanked the cord out of the wall and threw the clock on the bed. He glared at it for a minute then started towards the bathroom, stopping when he saw his bag on the floor in front of his bed. "Huh." He grabbed it and shrugged, figuring Lorelai brought it in after he went to bed. He still didn't understand why the 'Luke Speech', as she so fondly called it was grounds for her to be nice to him, but he wasn't about to question it. He just shook his head and went to take a shower.

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He pushed the curtain aside and paused at the bottom of the stairs when he saw Lorelai asleep at one of the tables. He frowned, wondering what had happened between her and Luke that would make him walk out on her then not come home all night, but he shoved the thought to the back of his mind as he walked towards Lorelai. "Hey." He said softly. "Lorelai."

She sat up quickly. "What? What's wrong?" She looked around the diner, then up at Jess. "What time is it?"

"A little after five."

"Ugh." She stood up and stretched. "Remind me to never sleep like that again."

"Why were you sleeping there anyway?"

"I was waiting for Luke, and I guess I fell asleep."

Noticing the frown that appeared on her face when she said Luke's name, he decided to change the subject. "Hey, thanks for bringing my bag in."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." A small grin graced her lips. "Lorelai Gilmore doesn't do nice things for Jess Mariano. Ever. Got it?"

"Okay, well if you happen to come across the person that brought my bag in, thank her for me."

She nodded. "Will do." She got her purse and shoes off the chair beside her. "Now if you don't mind, I need to go home and sleep for twelve more hours." She put her coat on and pulled the door open. "See you later, Jess." The bell above the door rang as it closed behind her.

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Lorelai fumbled with her key for a minute, since she couldn't actually see anything in the dark, before successfully opening the door. She walked inside and right into someone. Before she could scream, a hand clasped over her mouth.

"Shhh." Luke whispered. "Rory's sleeping."

She pushed his hand away. "All sane people are sleeping right now."

"Well, that would explain why you're awake."

"Yea…so do you want to hear my explanations, 'cause I've got 'em. Explanations, perspective, apologies, I've got 'em all, and I'm dying to share them with you."

He frowned. "I just…I need some time."

"Time –"

"A little time, to think."

"And to process."

He nodded. "Right."

"I get that. I get that. I just have so much I want to say to you."

"Not right now. I need to clear my head."

"You'll call me when you're ready?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Good. Okay."

"Okay"

She nodded. "So I'll see you later."

He didn't say anything as he stepped around her and walked out the door.

Lorelai sighed as she dropped her purse and shoes on the floor. She ran a hand through her hair as she tossed her coat onto the couch and walked towards Rory's room. She eased the door open and saw her daughter asleep amidst a large pile of books. She just stood in the doorway and looked at Rory, knowing that everyone of the books on her bed was filled with Jess's handwriting. And though she'd never admit it, she was kinda glad he came back. Whether it was because she believed in Jess now, or because she thought his being back would get rid of Logan, she wasn't sure.

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Jess looked up when he heard the bell above the door ring. "Hey." He said to Luke. "Where the hell have you been? It's already after eight."

Luke ignored him and went straight through the curtain and upstairs.

"Right." Jess grabbed a coffee pot and started around the room giving refills as he listened to the whispering that started as soon as Luke was out of sight.

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When Rory woke up the first thing she noticed was the uncomfortable weight on her legs, but the post-it on her forehead was running a close second. She pulled the post-it off her head and looked down at the pile of books on her bed. Well that explained the lack of comfort. She made a mental note to not sleep with a drawerful of books on her lap ever again before looking at the note she had in her hands. _Call me tonight after your classes. Love ya. Mom._ She looked over at her clock. It was only quarter after nine. Her class wasn't until noon so she had time to kill. She decided after she'd put all her books away, she'd head over to Luke's for breakfast.

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Jess was starting a new pot of coffee when he heard the bell above the door ring. He would have just continued what he was doing, but right after he heard the bell, the diner went silent. He slowly turned around, knowing full well who it was.

"Jess?"

"Hey." He flipped the mug in front of him. "Coffee?"

"Uhh, yea. Of course." She sat at the counter as he poured the coffee. "Thanks."

Everyone's conversations started back up after that, easing Jess's discomfort slightly. "You want something to eat?"

"Chocolate chip pancakes?"

"Caesar's cooking."

"Then definitely a ham and cheese omelet and rye toast."

"Bacon on the side?"

"Umm, onion rings."

"Okay." He gave the order to Caesar, and grabbed three plates from the kitchen.

Rory watched him give people their food, clean tables, and argue with Kirk for about ten minutes before he made his way back to the counter. "So, where's Luke?"

He ran to the kitchen to get her plate before answering. "Upstairs."

She took a bite of the omelet, and looked pleased. "This is really good. What's he doing?

"Luke?"

"Yea."

He shrugged. "Don't know. He came in around 8:30, went straight upstairs, and I haven't seen him since. He looked like hell when he got here so hopefully something along the lines of a shower is in his plans."

"He slept on our kitchen table."

"Yea, Lorelai slept over there." He gestured to the table Kirk was sitting at.

"Geeze. I woke up with a post-it on my forehead and a pile of books on my legs. And let me tell you, that was in no way comfortable."

"Well, the four hours of sleep I got were very nice...you slept with a pile of books?"

"Yea I was reading your…" She trailed off when she realized what she was saying and blushed.

"Oh, that had to be uncomfortable. Most of those books were hardcover."

She silently thanked him for not commenting on her reading all his margin notes. "Yea. I you wrote all your notes on a bunch of copies of Howl, it wouldn't have been a problem." She smiled.

He smiled back, glad to be back in this rhythm with her, even if it was only over books. It wasn't much, but for the moment it was enough.

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"Figure as your little girls arrive, we'll have them here in the living room. We'll have the pocket doors to the dining room closed. Then, when it's time for breakfast, we'll open the doors, and voila, the full, beautiful effect." Lorelai was showing a guest around the Dragonfly.

"Wonderful."

"We'll have music with a nice little fanfare. You like Yanni?"

"Hate him with every fiber of my being."

Lorelai smiled. "Oh, good, we're in perfect sync." She gestured towards the dining room. "And then, we'll have small-scale tables set with china, a silver tea service, little plates, little cups, and twelve little chairs for all of them to sit on."

"That's so cute."

"Yeah."

Michel, who had been walking with them, stopped. "Wait, twelve? I thought there were six. Six little girls."

"Six girls and their six dolls." Lorelai told him.

"I beg your pardon?"

"This is a pancake breakfast for the girls and their dolls."

"Get out of town."

"I thought you knew that."

"Dolls, as in they don't have stomachs, lungs or spleens? And we are serving them breakfast?"

"That's right."

"Teeth? Throat? Colons? They don't have these things either? Unless they are Brides of Chucky."

"I'm not paying attention to you anymore." She turned back to the customer. "All right, well, I'll order everything, and all you have to do is show up."

"The girls are looking forward to this. So are the dolls!"

"Aw, love that."

"Bye."

"Okay, bye."

Michel watched her leave then looked at Lorelai. "Is she psychotic?"

"Shh." Lorelai scolded as they headed into the kitchen.

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Sookie looked up from her stuffed peppers when Lorelai and Michel walked in.

"It's silly fun, Michel, girls love dolls. Chill." Lorelai said, trying to get away from him.

"I'm making little pancakes for the dolls, and I found these little forks they can use." Sookie told Lorelai gleefully.

"They do not have opposable thumbs!" Michel yelled.

"Who, the girls? Oh, this is a handicapped group!" Sookie said sympathetically. "Poor things."

"No, the dolls."

"The dolls? How can a doll be handicapped?"

"My point exactly! They are plastic and made in Bangalore!"

"We're doing this." Lorelai said. "So hop on board, or hop off."

"Okay! You don't need to snap my nose off!" Michel huffed as he walked out.

"He's getting on your nerves, huh?" Sookie went back to her peppers.

Lorelai nodded. "Completely." She walked towards the fridge. "I'm starving."

"Didn't you have anything at Luke's today?"

"Not today." She closed the refrigerator door "There's no food in this fridge."

"It's stuffed with food."

"Food that's edible. Food to consume. Everything in here you have to cook."

"I'm a cook."

"Oh, forget it."

Sookie looked up at her friend. "What's wrong?"

Lorelai shook her head. "Nothing. Luke and I had a little disagreement last night."

"At the wedding? What happened?'

"Christopher showed up."

"Oh, no."

"My mother invited him."

"Oh, no!"

"And I hadn't exactly told Luke about that tequila night with Chris after his dad died, so I told him and there was a big blow-up. Chris went nuts, Luke went nuts, and he got mad, and he left. And now he says he needs time to think."

"How much time?"

"He just said, 'Time'."

"Ooh, I hate when men do that. It's so vague."

"I should have told him when it happened. But I blew it. Now, if he'd just give me ten minutes we could hash it out and be back on our way, and not waste time. What's enough time?"

"I don't know."

"It's been eight hours. That enough?"

"I'd say no."

"I'll be distracted until we fix this."

"Well, don't worry, because when a relationship is right, things work out."

"I hope so."

"I heard about this couple on one of those morning show, similar to you guys - all lovey-dovey, perfect for each other, you know, headed for marriage - and something happened, and they broke up in their senior year of college, even though they were madly in love with each other. They moved to different parts of the country. They married different people."

"They married different people?"

"Oh, had kids, grandkids. Then their spouses died, oh, and they were available again, and they talked and they hooked up, and now they're together and they're happily in love after forty years apart. Uh!"

Lorelai gasped. "That's a horrible story!"

"No, it's not!"

"What morning show was that on? I hate that story!"

"But they ended up together!"

"Was it Katie Couric? She seems very dark to me."

"The point is that even if it takes forty years to figure it out, there's still a chance for a happy ending!"

"But that's all they had! An ending! I don't want to have just an ending with Luke!"

"I know, but-"

"I don't want to have those stupid kids or those ugly grandkids with that loser other guy!"

"You don't know, he could be a nice guy."

"Even if he's a nice, guy, he's not the guy I want to be with!" Lorelai yelled.

"You're right. It's not fair to him."

"It's not fair to him, it's dishonest."

"We should name the other guy. I feel like he'd be a Larry."

She gaped. "We're not naming the other guy."

"Okay. I guess it was a bad example. Sorry."

"Oh, it's okay."

"But you know, I read a story about another guy that had a fight with his girlfriend, and he said he needed like a week to think it over, and he only needed a day. And he and the girl were back together and were happy forever. No Larry, or loser kids, or anything."

"Uh-huh."

"They don't put stuff like that in the newspapers, 'cause it's not as sexy as the forty year story, but it happens all the time, really."

"Thanks for making that up."

"You're welcome."

"I'm going to go take a walk. I've got some errands to run.'

"Good. Clear your head. And it was Katie Couric."

"I knew it." Lorelai said pointedly, as she left.

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Paris was sitting on the couch watching CNN when Rory walked into their dorm room. "Rory, nice of you to grace us with your presence."

"Us?"

"Fine, me. Just me. I'm all alone. No need to rub it in."

"What's wrong with you?" Rory threw her stuff onto the table, then sat next to Paris."

She sighed. "Sorry. I'm just stressed. I'm waiting for Doyle to call. I expected a call yesterday to set something up for last night, but it never came. So I ate a family-sized bag of salt and vinegar potato chips and went to bed at seven-thirty."

"And then forgot to shower? You smell like grease and vinegar."

Paris looked over at Rory. "What's up with you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You have guy face."

"Oh, thanks."

"You know what I mean." Her eyes widened. "Please tell me it's not Huntzberger."

"I just had a good morning." She smiled.

"Oh my God. You slept with him."

"I did not sleep with him."

"Then what the hell are you so happy about?"

"Jess is in town, and-"

"Ohh, you slept with him."

"Paris! I didn't sleep with anyone. We talked for a while this morning and it was just…nice."

"That's it?"

"Yea."

"We're pathetic."

Rory got off the couch. "Speak for yourself. You sit here and be pathetic, I need to get to class. I'll see you later."

"Yea, maybe I'll go find an ex-boyfriend and have a 'conversation' with him."

"I didn't sleep with him Paris."

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Lorelai walked down the street in Stars Hollow, looking around. A chef at Antonioli's was putting a large pink bow on his door, and also had a smaller one on his shirt. He gave Lorelai a big 'thumbs up' as Gypsy walked towards her, also wearing a pink ribbon.

"I'm on your side, Lorelai." Gypsy told her.

Lorelai stopped in front of her. "Whoa, yo, Gypsy. What are you talking about?"

"The breakup."

"What breakup?"

"Yours and Luke's."

"We're not broken up."

"Break up, split up, separated - whatever you want to call it."

"I'd like to call it nothing. We're fine. What is with these ribbons?"

"Pink for you, blue for Luke. Taylor's idea. That way we all know whose side we're on without having to talk to each other. He's a freak, but I like pink.

"Oh my God."

"Look out, blue incoming." She pulled Lorelai out of the way of a man walking by.

"Oh, Gypsy, please. Take that ribbon off. I don't want anyone encouraging Taylor on this."

"Oh, it's way too late. He's passed out hundreds."

"Hundreds?"

Gypsy nodded. "It was no choice for me. Luke fixes his own truck, so I make bumpkins off him. But you, you don't know a piston from a pepperoni. Lots of money in ignorance. I'm with you.

Lorelai sees Luke going into Doose's market. "Okay, great. I'll catch up with you later." She walked away.

"Pink power, baby. We chicks gotta stick together." Gypsy called after her.

When Lorelai entered, Taylor was tying ribbons.

"Lorelai." Taylor said, stopping what he was doing.

"I'll deal with you later." She headed towards the back of the store, where Luke went. "Luke?" He turned around to look at her. "Hi." She continued. "I'm sorry to sneak up on you like this, but please, just give me a minute. We need to talk. I have so much to say. I should have told you about that night with Christopher. I know that now."

"Yeah, okay. I'm-"

"But I swear, the visit we had was so innocent." She cut him off. "It was about his dad, and nothing happened. Less than nothing happened."

"But you hid it."

"I know, and I shouldn't have. And I am so, so sorry. But all that talk from Christopher, at the wedding. I didn't see that coming. He was drunk. He was stupid. He's never not stupid, but I didn't see it coming."

"You should have."

"I know. Rory warned me and I ignored her, but believe me. I am never seeing him again. Never."

"What are you talking about? He's Rory's father. He'll always be in your life."

"In her life."

"Her life is your life."

"Not when it comes to this."

"This is going to happen again and again."

"No, it won't, Luke. I promise. God, if you care anything for me at all, just please trust me on this."

"I've got to go." He pushed past her, and started towards the door.

"Luke. No, wait. Wait." She followed him. "Luke, it was my mother, you know, who did all this. She was the one. She caused all this hateful stuff because Christopher is weak and she knows that and I am never talking to her again."

"They're always going to be in your life too."

"No."

"Your mother, your father. The Gilmores will always be in your life."

"I can cut them off."

"No, you just can't cut them off. It doesn't work that way, and they'll never feel differently about me, ever."

"It doesn't matter, because they're gone. That's it. They are gone. I can do that."

Like shook his head. "I can't have this out right now."

"Okay, when? Where?"

"I need more time! I told you that."

"I'm afraid of this 'more time' stuff. I'm afraid it'll take forty years and that's not good."

"Lorelai."

"We'll miss our middle. I want a middle. And the town is dividing us up. I need that to stop."

"Don't."

"Luke. I am all in. I'm all in. Please trust me. Let me show you what a great girlfriend I can be. But I can't wait. We can't wait. I need to know what you're thinking right now."

"Fine. You want to know what I'm thinking right now? That I can't be in this relationship. It's too much." He turned and walked out.

Lorelai felt tears sting her eyes. "No."


	4. Can't Help Thinking About Him

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

A/N: The Luke/Lorelai stuff is probably going to be mainly out of the episodes for one or two more chapters. Sorry about that for those of you who want get past that, but I need to lay some ground work before I get to the original stuff and it should change relatively soon.

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Rory sat on her bed in her dorm room as she dialed a number on her cell phone. She listened to it ring a few times, before the machine picked up. "Hey, Mom. I guess you're still at the Inn so I try back later. And, uh, I need to talk to you about something. Jess-type something. Bye." She hit end and tossed the phone onto her dresser.

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The group of little girls for tea party at the Dragonfly was sitting around the table, holding their dolls, looking bored and sad.

"She's on her way, I know she is." Sookie told them.

"Well, I hope she is." The woman that set up the party told her. "Just hang in there, girls. I know you're hungry." She turned back to Sookie. "They're getting ready to rebel."

Sookie took out her cell phone and dialed a number. "It's just that Lorelai ordered all the tables and the little china and I'm sure it's here somewhere, it's just - excuse me for just a second." She walked over to Michel. "Please, help. You're just standing there." She hung up the phone and dialed another number.

"I'm staying out of the way. In situations like this, 'do not get in the way' is so valuable."

"Well, get in the way. Entertain the kids."

"Like I'm Sponge Boy Big Pants or something? I do not entertain children."

She hung up again. "I'm getting worried. She left to do an errand yesterday and never came back."

"Are you dialing the right number?"

"I think after ten years I know Lorelai's number." She dialed again.

"Well, where is she?"

"I don't know. But she was in charge of everything except the pancakes, and without her all we have are pancakes! They're expecting games and stuff."

"Oh, here's a fun game. Poke out all of the doll's eyes, mix them up, and match them to the right dolls.

"Ugh! It's still voicemail!"

"Well, leave a message!

"I've left a million messages! I'm going to her house."

"Don't leave me here!"

"Stall, stall!" She told him as she ran out the door.

One of the girls held her doll up to Michel. "My dolly fell. Kiss the boo-boo."

"What part of the dolly is the boo-boo?"

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Rory woke up to the sound of her cell phone ringing. She climbed out of bed and grabbed it off her dresser. She looked at the number before answering. "Mom?"

"It's me, Rory. It's Sookie."

"Sookie? Are you at the house?"

"Look, uh, something happened with your mom and Luke and your mom's in bad shape. I mean, she's down, hon. And I'm here now, but I think you oughta come. She needs you."

"Oh my God. Is she hurt?"

"No, not physically. Just come, okay?"

"I'm coming." She hung up and got ready to leave. "Crap." She ran to Paris's room and banged on the door.

Paris pulled the door open. "I hate you."

"I need to go home."

"Wonderful. And you couldn't me write a note?"

"I took my car in for its six month service. It's at the dealer".

"You take your car to the dealer?"

"Paris. Can I please use your car?"

"Yea. Fine. The keys are hanging up."

"Thank you. So much. I'll have it back as soon as possible."

"Can I go back to sleep now?"

"Yea. Sorry I woke you up." She grabbed the keys and ran out the door.

Paris nodded and went back in her room.

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Sookie was sitting on the couch at Lorelai's house when Rory rushed in. "Where is she?"

Sookie stood up. "Upstairs."

"Okay, I've got it from here, Sookie. I love you." Rory told her as she started up the stairs.

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When she got upstairs, Rory saw Lorelai lying in bed, crying.

Rory rushed over to her. "Mom? What happened?"

"Luke." She cried.

"What Luke?" She asked, confused.

"He's gone! He hates me. I blew it. I blew everything."

"I don't understand. What happened?"

"I should have told him about Christopher."

"That was innocent."

"But I should have told him. I hid it. I shouldn't have hid it."

"Try to sit up."

"She got to him."

"To Dad? Who did?"

"Mom." Lorelai told her. "She pushed him and it ruined everything. And now they're putting up ribbons."

"Ribbons? Who?"

"Taylor, the town. They hate me. They all hate me. I wrecked everything."

"Mom. This isn't good. Come on. Try to sit up."

"He said he needed time to think, but I pushed him."

"He'll come around."

"I pushed him, and now he's gone."

"He waited forever for you. He's not just going to walk away."

"It's over."

"Mom, this isn't you. Lying in bed like this. You should be up."

"You should go to school. Go back to school."

"I'm here. I'm staying."

"God, I really screwed up this time."

"Shh." She ran her hand over Lorelai's hair.

"He could have been the one."

"He'll come around. Shh. Try to sleep."

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Lorelai walked down the stairs and looked around.

"Rory?"

She looked into the kitchen and saw a video projector, and Luke sitting on Big Red.

"Luke?"

She walked into the Black, White and Read Theater and sat down next to him, smiling

"Whatcha watching?"

"Something stupid."

Lorelai looked up at the screen and saw her and Luke sitting in her kitchen drinking glasses of champagne, with candles all around. "This isn't stupid."

The Luke on the screen smiled. "Lorelai, this thing we're doing here, me, you. I just want you to know I'm in. I am all in."

The Lorelai on the screen was silent.

"Say something." Lorelai told herself. Luke on the couch next to her was replaced by a large blue ribbon. "Say something!"

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Lorelai woke up in her bed and rolled over to see Rory looking at her.

"You slept." Rory stated.

"I guess." She said softly.

"Feeling better?"

"Sure."

"No you're not."

"You should get back to Yale."

"Uh-uh."

"Rory, you can't just stay here."

"Sorry. I'm here for the duration."

"No."

"You need supplies."

"I'm fine."

"There's no sign that you've eaten or had anything to drink."

"Well, I'm not hungry or thirsty."

"Well, if you're staying up here you need supplies. Sustenance. Entertainment."

"Well…" Lorelai gave in.

"See, you're a little thirsty, aren't you."

"A little."

"What can I get you? Water? Bourbon?"

"Water is good."

"What do you got food-wise?"

"Not much."

"What's not much?"

"Like, nothing. Some moldy bread. I've been eating out mostly."

"Okay, I'm going on a run."

"I'm not hungry."

"I'll get you some DVD's, too. Do you want magazines?"

"No."

Rory climbed off her mom's bed. "I'll get you some magazines. You sure you don't want bourbon?"

"Honey, you have stuff to do."

She started for the door. "This is my stuff. I'll be back in a flash."

Lorelai gasped and sat up. "The ribbons."

Rory spun around. "What?"

"Ah, the ribbons. They're all over town."

"I'll just ignore them. Stupid Taylor!"

"People are going to be all over you with questions."

"Then they'll feel the wrath of the Green Destiny."

"Oh, you'll get bombarded."

"Well, maybe I'll call in some reinforcements." She kissed her mother's forehead. "I've got my cell on."

Lorelai gave her a small smile. "Kay."

"Don't go rollerblading or bowling or anything while I'm gone."

"I won't."

She waited until Rory was gone, then flopped back into bed.

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Lane walked out of Doose's followed by a bag boy, both carrying large bags.

"Umm, put those in the back seat." Lane instructed him. "Thanks." She said, before walking around to the passenger side and getting in the car.

"Did you get everything?" Rory asked.

"Everything on the list. Plus, I threw in a few things of my own. Some Toll House cookie dough. Cooked or uncooked, the ultimate comfort food."

"Nice."

"Chocolate covered matzah."

"Nice and ethnic."

"And a new toothbrush."

Rory arched an eyebrow. "Why a new toothbrush?"

"Dentists say you're supposed to change your toothbrush every three months, and I'm assuming your mother's not doing that."

"Well, I'm not sure how that's going to help her depression but you are a good friend."

Lane smiled. "Why thank you."

She nodded "Was Taylor in there?

"Uh,'Fraid so. And he was holding court."

"What?"

"He was talking with a bunch of people about the breakup. Big debate going on."

"What debate?"

"Oh, about whether Elm should have gone more pink than blue, and whether Lorelai should have married that Max guy when she had the chance. Oh, and he was passing out ribbons like there was no tomorrow."

"Was he?" She got out of the car and marched inside.

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Taylor was talking to a customer and bagging her groceries when Rory enters.

"Luke I've known longer, because of the diner. Lorelai is much later, but she-"

"Where are they, Taylor?" Rory cut him off.

"What?"

"Don't play dumb. The ribbons."

Taylor picked up the box and showed it to her.

She grabbed it out of his hands. "Take piano lessons or something!" She yelled as she walked out.

Taylor shook his head. "She was so sweet when she was little."

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Rory got in the car and handed the ribbons to Lane. "Got 'em."

"My compliments to your moxie!"

"Oh, I've got moxie coming out of my ears today." She turns around when they hear a car honking, but she can't see anything with the groceries in the way.

"They honking at us?"

"They better not be. Oh, I am in no mood for this. We are depressed!" She stood up with her head out the sunroof. "We'll move when we move, so stop-" She pause when she saw that it was Luke honking at them.

"Oh. Sorry." He says, seeing that it's Rory.

"This is not my car." She ducked back inside.

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Rory's purchases were set up on a table next to the bed, and Lorelai was sitting up, eating something out of a bowl.

"How are you feeling?" Rory asked her.

Lorelai put her bowl down. "Like I just got dumped."

"Understandable." Her head turned quickly when she heard someone knocking on the front door. "Umm, I'll be right back."

"Okay."

Rory ran downstairs and pulled the front door open. "What took you so long?"

"Hi, Jess. Nice to see you. Oh, well Rory, it's really nice to see you too."

"Sorry. Come on in."

He walked inside and made his way to the living room. "So what do you need me for?"

She followed him, but stopped short next to the couch. "What is that?"

He looked down at the pink ribbon pinned to his shirt. "That's my ribbon."

She walked over and unpinned the ribbon. "Why must you encourage this insanity?" She shoved it into her pocket. "And shouldn't you be on Luke's side anyway?"

"Luke's an idiot." He shook his head. "So, how's Lorelai doing?"

Rory shrugged. "She say's she's alright, but laying in bed like that is not like her."

"I think you're just gonna have to let her deal in her own way. I mean I get that this isn't like her, but wasn't this relationship different from the other ones?"

"I guess you're right." She narrowed her eyes. "Since when are you right?"

"I told you I changed."

She looked down at her feet. "I know." So quickly shifted her gaze to his face. "So, you're probably wondering why I called you."

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Rory walked into her mother's room where she was reading a magazine. "Heads up, man coming in."

Jess walks in carrying the television. "Where do you want this?"

"Oh! The T.V.!" Lorelai cheered.

"On the table." She directed him before turning to her mother. "You won't come downstairs, I'm bringing downstairs up to you."

Jess put the TV down and started hooking it up to the wall.

"So, as you probably figured out, I put all the things you will definitely need within easiest reach - water, basic foodstuffs - then, the things that you have to reach for or stand up for recede in order of frequency of use. It's not a science, but I did the best I could." Rory informed her mother.

"Well, I'm loving the cereal combo."

"Five different kinds, three sweetened, with a mix of non-fat milk and half and half. It's a Paris recipe."

"Thank her for me."

Jess stood up and turned to face Rory and Lorelai. "All done here."

"Excellent." Lorelai said, reaching for the remote.

"Do you need anything else?"

"How's it going with that pony?"

"Okay, so, nothing else. I'm gonna go then." He nodded and left.

Rory watched him go then turned to her mother. "I'll be right back."

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"Jess." Rory caught up to him at the front door.

"Hmm?"

"I-thank you. For helping me…Mom. For helping us. It was really nice of you to just run over here like that."

"It was the least I could do."

She smiled at him. "You really did change, didn't you."

"If you need anything, call me. Okay?"

"Yea. Thanks Jess."

"You're welcome."

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"What was that?" Lorelai asked as soon as Rory walked back into her room.

Rory sat at the foot of the bed. "What was what?"

"What was that with you and Jess?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"What happened with Logan?"

Rory shrugged. "That wasn't me. I don't want to be the kind of person that just jumps into bed with a guy."

"Did you tell him that?"

"Not yet. But I will."

"So…Jess, huh?"

"I don't know. I don't know if I can take him back after what happened. Hell, I don't even know if that's what he wants."

Lorelai snorted. "Yea. You're probably right. He was at my parents' wedding because the three of them are so close."

"Can we talk about something else?"

"If you insist." She said dramatically. "Whose car is that outside?"

"Paris's. You can see the driveway from here?"

"Yes, because of my newly acquired x-ray vision. I looked out the window before to see who was at the door."

"There's a roof over the porch."

"Well, then it's good that I have x-ray vision, isn't it. Why do you have Paris's car?"

"Well, I had to get out here, and my car is at the dealer for its six month service. So Paris let me borrow hers"

"You take your car to the dealer?"

"Yea."

"They're such a rip-off there."

"It says in the book to take it to the dealer."

"If it said in the book to drive off a cliff, would you drive off a cliff?

"Yes I would."

Lorelai shook her head. "Look, you should go."

"No!"

"Yale's going to get mad."

"Yale's not going to get mad."

"Rory, I'm glad you came, but look how fine I am. I'm surrounded by everything I could possibly need. I even have raw cookie dough, for God's sake.

"That was Lane's idea."

"A whole village has seen to my needs. Go. It's time. Look, I'm sitting up and everything."

"And you're feeling better, I mean, for real this time?"

"I'm not a hundred percent, but I'm getting there. I swear."

"The downstairs is all set too. I cleaned up. Vacuumed a little, spot dusted. Oh, and I've checked in with Sookie."

"Oh, good."

"The party for the little girls and their dolls? Michel apparently really came through and it was a big hit. He sang a medley from Annie."

"Oh, the big guns. Good. Now go!"

Rory stood up and started towards the door but stopped and turned around before she got all the way. "Okay. But I am going to call a lot."

"I'm good with that."

"And I only have one class tomorrow, so I could stop by again in the afternoon."

"Well, there'll be no need."

"You can call me, too, you know."

"I know, Mom." Lorelai mocked

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye, honey."

Rory smiled one more time then walked out the door.

Lorelai turned on the TV and flipped through some channels then turned it off again. She sighed and slumped back down in bed.


	5. Friday on my Mind

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

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Rory just walked into her room after taking a shower, when the phone started to ring. "Paris! Can you get that?" When the ringing didn't stop she threw her clothes on the bed and wrapped her towel firmly around her. "I swear to God, Paris!" She yelled as she picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, Ace."

"Logan. Hi. What's up?"

"Just wanted to apologize for running out so fast the other night."

"It's fine. I didn't stay long after that anyway." She shifted the phone to her other ear. "Listen, did you want something. This isn't really a good time."

"Oh, I didn't realize you were busy."

"No, I just got out of the shower. And for some reason Paris can't answer the damn phone." She added the last part loudly, for Paris's benefit.

"You free tonight?"

"Umm, listen. Logan. I can't do this."

"This?"

"The casual sex thing. It's just not me. I can't do it."

"Yea. I figured as much." He said, trying to hide his disappointment.

"You did?"

"C'mon, Ace."

She smiled. "Thanks, Logan."

"For what?"

"Just for understanding. So, I'll see you at the paper."

"See you later, Ace."

"Bye."

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"Hello?"

"Remember when you said if I needed something, to call you?"

"Yea, of course."

"I need something."

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Rory pulled the door open and smiled. "Oh, thank God."

"So what's the problem?" Jess asked.

She grabbed his arm and pulled him inside. "Paris and Doyle have been going at it nonstop. I can't take anymore."

"You need me to save you from the sound of Paris having sex?"

"Desperately."

He smirked at her. "Grab a jacket."

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Rory and Jess were sitting on the steps of an empty building, somewhere in New Haven.

"…so Kirk ended up being the whore and he had to seduce Taylor."

"Please tell me there are pictures."

"Of course." She turned her head and looked around behind her. "Hey, listen."

He was silent for a minute then looked at Rory. "I don't hear anything."

She smiled at him. "Exactly."

"I'm glad you called."

"Yea. Me too."

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Lorelai knocked on Rory's dorm room door.

"Come in." A male voice called from inside.

Lorelai opened the door and saw Doyle sitting on the couch. "Hi! Hello. I'm sorry, do I have the wrong room?"

"I wouldn't know." He said.

Paris walked out of her room. "How delightful to have all of my towels used and then deposited in my hamper with my dry clothes to create a pungent musty combo. Hey, Lorelai."

"Paris, good, I have the right room."

"This is Rory's mother." Paris told Doyle

Lorelai leaned over to shake his hand. "Hi. Lorelai."

"I'm Doyle. Rory's editor."

"And my lover." Paris added.

"Okay, well, super." Lorelai said looking towards Rory's room.

"I don't think lover is exactly the correct term, Paris." Doyle said, ignoring Lorelai's comment.

"Really? What is the correct term, Doyle?"

"At a later time, Paris."

"Doyle and I haven't defined the social aspects of our relationship yet." Paris informed Lorelai

"Ah."

"Although we're having sex three or four times a week, so apparently the sexual aspects of our relationship are crystal freaking clear."

"Paris, I beg you."

"Is Rory here?" Lorelai asked. "Cause I could wait outside, or-"

"I'm making you uncomfortable." Paris stated.

Doyle nodded. "Yes."

"Her. Not you." Paris told him.

"No, I'm fine. You two should be alone."

"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't be talking about love, or sex, especially since you…"

"Since I…"

"Don't have any."

"Rory!" Lorelai yelled. "Are you here?

"Yeah, I'm just getting my coat!" She called from her room.

"Ah! Can I watch?"

"Oh, is Paris out there?"

"She sure is."

"Come on in."

"Nice meeting you, Doyle."

"Nice to meet you, too."

Lorelai quickly went into Rory's room.

Rory looked at her mother in the mirror, while putting lipstick on. "Sorry, I thought she and Doyle were indisposed."

"No, no, plenty of disposal going on."

Rory stood up and grabbed her coat. "Okay. Ready."

"This was a good idea, having dinner."

"Well, it is Friday night."

"Yeah, but Friday night dinner without Ava and Adolf. Lovely."

"It's really not fair calling Grandpa Adolf!" Rory said indignantly.

"No, no, that was Grandma."

"Oh."

They walked out into the common room.

"We're going." Rory announced.

Doyle who was standing near the fridge eating out of a giant bag of chips, looked over at her.

"Rory, are these your chips?"

"Yes, Doyle."

He put a few chips in his mouth. "Can I have some?"

"Knock yourself out, Doyle."

"Listen, Lorelai? If you decide that your breakup is something that you want to talk about, please let me know." Paris said.

"Okay, Paris."

"And let me know before Tuesday, because I'm doing a paper for my Emotional Mental Health class about how women of a certain age cope with loneliness, and I think you'd be a great lead-off anecdote."

A stunned Lorelai looks meaningfully at her daughter.

Rory frowned. "You can't take her. She's trained in Krav Maga."

"Damn it."

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Lorelai and Rory were sitting in the Yale cafeteria with trays of food and drinks. Rory raised her glass. "Here's to our very own special Friday night dinner."

"Hear, hear." Lorelai raised her glass and clinked it against Rory's, then looked at her food. "This stuff looks pretty good.

"It is." She took a bite of her food. "So what's going on at home?"

Lorelai gasped dramatically. "Big grapefruit shortage. The hurricanes wiped them out and Taylor is completely freaking out."

"I'm sure."

"And Patty and Babette are organizing Stars Hollow's first botox party."

"Are you invited?"

"Are you insinuating I should be?"

"So the Hollow's low on grapefruits."

"Uh-huh. And I'm doing costumes for the Stars Hollow Elementary School production of Fiddler on the Roof."

Rory looked at her meaningfully. "So, how are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine."

"How are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine. I swear. I'm getting better."

"No word from Luke?"

Lorelai sighed. "Not waiting on word from Luke."

"Okay."

"Anyhow, I'm fine. I mean, not that I'm over it, but little by little it's getting easier to pretend it's easier, which means easier must be right around the corner."

"I'm sure it is."

"And I'm working on getting down a new routine. I've settled on Weston's in the morning."

"Decent coffee, excellent strudel."

"Yeah. So, that's me. How are you?"

She pretended to think about it. "Hmm, well, I study, then study, then after a little study break, I study."

"Uh-huh. So, did you talk to Logan?"

"Yes I did."

"And?"

"He was fine with it. Completely understood."

"And Jess?"

"What about him?"

"Is he back for good?"

Rory shrugged. "I guess. He mentioned finding an apartment so he can get out of Luke's hair."

"Ahh. So you two have been talking?"

"Yea. He came by a few times when I couldn't handle listening to Paris and Doyle anymore, and we went out to eat, or just away from the sex noises. It was nice."

"You missed him."

"Since when are you so okay with Jess?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. He's not that awful."

"You do know that you just said something almost nice about Jess Mariano."

"I know. I need to go wash my mouth out with soap." She narrowed her eyes at Rory. "So, what else is going on that you're not telling me?"

"Umm, nothing that I can think of."

"You are such a bad liar."

"That's only 'because you know me too well."

"Uh, no. It's 'cause you're a bad liar. You do that blinking thing. Now talk."

She looked down at her hands and mumbled something.

"What?"

Rory looked up at her. "I got an e-mail from Dad."

"Oh, you did?" She asked, surprised. "Huh. When?"

"Monday."

"Only two weeks after the fact. Very speedy."

"I'm sure he was just nervous."

"You know, you don't need to hide that from me."

"Well, I wasn't sure if you wanted to hear about it, or hear Dad's name-"

"Hey, it's part of the whole 'moving on' thing, right? So what did he say?"

"He wanted to give me his side of the story."

"Oh, well. Unless his side of the story includes having his long-lost evil twin lock him in the closet and come to the wedding in his place, his side of the story doesn't exist."

"He said it was all a misunderstanding."

Lorelai looked angry. "What?"

"He said the only reason he came was to celebrate Grandma and Grandpa's vow renewal."

"And 'cause Adolf told him to."

"He says he likes Luke."

"Yeah, he's proven that."

"He just wants you to be happy."

"So, he got me dumped."

"And, basically that the whole thing was just a misunderstanding."

"You know, the more he defends himself, the more he needs to defend himself."

Rory looked panicked. "Hey, do you think Grandpa knew about it?"

"About Christopher coming?"

"Do you think he planned it with Grandma?"

"Look how panicked you are. No, honey, honestly, the whole thing reeks of Emily. I mean, not that I think he would have discouraged it, but I'm pretty sure she's the one who poisoned the apple and gave it to Dopey to bring to the party."

"Yeah."

Two girls holding their heads and looking sick sat down at their table.

"Oh my God." One of them said.

The other groaned. "Never again."

"Never, never again."

Lorelai leaned towards Rory. "See, we are at the cool table." She said quietly, causing Rory to give her a funny look. "I'm telling you, if she throws up you're golden."

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Lorelai and Rory were walking through the Yale courtyard. "All right, honey. Thank you for dinner." Lorelai said.

"You're leaving?"

"Yeah, I should get back."

"Okay. You can come in and watch T.V. for a while if you want."

"It's okay."

"You can even stay over if you don't feel like driving back."

"Are there monsters under your bed again?"

"I'm just saying."

"Look, Miss Nightingale. I appreciate your concern. And the offer to spend the night is much nicer than the suggestion that I shut my mouth, but I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Big girl."

"Yeah. It's still new."

"Angel, I have been dumped before."

"Not by Luke."

"No, not by Luke. But a dump is a dump. The process is still the same. Don't worry, Mom's cool."

She nodded. "I know Mom's cool."

"Cause you heard about the table?"

Rory smiled. "Exactly."

"All right, kid, I'll see you later."

"Okay, bye."

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Paris walked to the door and pulled it open. She looked expectantly at the person on the other side.

"Paris."

"Jess."

"Is Rory here?"

"Yes."

"Can I go talk to her?"

"Sure. Rory can have guests whenever she wants." She said angrily.

"Okay." He walked inside and straight to Rory's room.

"You better keep your shoes on!" Paris yelled as he was closing the door.

Rory looked up from her book and smiled. "Hey."

"She's insane."

"You know, I actually knew that." She put the book on her dresser. "And to what do I owe this unexpected visit?"

He handed her a to-go container from the diner. "Cheeseburger."

"Ooh, I have been dying for Luke's food." She opened the container and took a bite of the burger. "Oh my God." She looked around for somewhere to spit it out.

Jess pulled a paper bag out of his pocket and held it in front of her. "Here."

She spit the food into the bag. "That is disgusting. Why would you feed that to me?"

"Luke isn't doing too good."

"Well give me ten minutes and I won't be either. I think I need medical attention. You are cruel."

"He's been throwing customers out. Literally."

"Oh my God."

"And all the food is burnt or tastes like crap. He's miserable."

She sighed. "This whole thing is just…I don't know. I don't know what to do. Mom pretends that she's fine. My grandparents are mad because Mom won't go to Friday Night Dinner. My dad keeps saying it was just a big misunderstanding. And Luke's suddenly lost all culinary and social skills."

"And on top of all that, you're probably gonna die from eating that burger."

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Lane winced as she watched Luke kick the oven, causing the door to fall off. _Two weeks _she thought to herself. She grabbed a plate of…something, and carried it to Kirk. "Here's your pancakes…I think."

"Thank you, Lane. It looks very appetizing." He took a bite and tried not to look disgusted. "Mmm. Very good. My complements to the chef."

Lane nodded and walked over to Jess, who was pouring coffee. "Please ask Luke to let you cook. I am begging you."

"Oh, wow. A reason to go near the psycho. I think I'll pass."

She growled at him. "You are an awful person."

"Excuse me, miss?" A customer called.

Lane turned around. "Can I help you?"

"Sorry to be a pest, but I asked for my omelet soft. This is way overdone." He said.

"Shh. Not so loud." She warned him.

When Luke stormed over and opened the door, the customer looked up at him. "You should probably make me another–" He was cut off when Luke grabbed him under the arms and threw him into the street then proceeded to slam the door.

"How's everyone else's eggs, huh?" He asked angrily.

The rest of the customers looked down at their food. "Great."

"Umm," Kirk said. "I don't have eggs. I have pancakes."

"Oh no." Lane said under her breath.

When Luke started towards him, Kirk's eyes went wide. "They are really good though. In f-fact they are the best pancakes I've e-ever h-h-had." He let out a sigh of relief when Jess stepped in front of Luke.

"You need to chill out. I get it that you're decidedly pissed at the world, but you need to stop."

"Move. Actually, get out of my diner. All of you. Out!"

Kirk was the first out the door, followed closely by the rest of the customers. Lane hesitated for a minute, but also left.

Luke went behind the counter. "Get out, Jess."

"What the hell is wrong you? You literally threw a woman with a walker out the door. You need to get over it"

"Well, at least I haven't been driving 20 miles just to make puppy dog eyes, and hope she'll fall back into my arms."

"You are aware that _you_ broke up with _her_? So if you're looking for her to fall back in your arms maybe you should work on those eyes." He shook his head. "You know, it took me a long time to figure out why you went out with Nicole. And the marriage. Wow. But for a long time I couldn't figure out why you would even give her a passing glance, I mean she is the exact opposite of Lorelai. Then I realized it was _because_ she's the exact opposite of Lorelai. You wanted to prove that you didn't need her. That you could have your own life without her in it. But you were wrong." He sighed. "I don't get it. You waited for her for eight years. Eight years, Luke. That's insane. And now you're just gonna let her go because she made one mistake? I really don't understand." He paused. "And it's 22.8 miles."

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Luke was sitting at one of the tables in the diner with his head in his hands. He looked up when the bell above the door rang. "We're clos-"

Emily was standing next to the door. "Hello, Luke."

"What do you want?"

She walked over the table and sat across from him. "My daughter and I aren't speaking. She won't take my calls, she won't come to dinner. She apparently wants nothing to do with me." She paused. "I'm sure you know that Lorelai and I have had many battles. Most of them have been because I feel that I know what's best for her. But Lorelai has her own ideas about what she thinks will make her happy. She wants you, Luke. She's made her choice, God help her, but there it is. It doesn't matter if I agree with it, I can't fight it. You've won. Go back to her. I promise I will stay out of it". Without another word, she got up and walked out the door.

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Lorelai was sitting on the couch in her living room, watching a movie. Judy Garland was singing on the screen. "The night is bitter. The stars have lost their glitter. The winds grow colder, suddenly you're older, and all because of the man that got away."

She looked up when she heard someone knocking on the door. She walked over and pulled it open. Luke just looked at her for a minute then he walked in, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. Lorelai reached out and pushed the door shut.

"No more his eager call, the writing's on the wall, the dreams you've dreamed have all gone astray."

A/N: I think I made Logan a little too nice. I don't know. Tell me what you think about it because I can't decide.

A/N 2: For those of you who are bothered by the fact that so much of this is straight out of the episode, this should be the last chapter like that. A lot of them will have some stuff out of the episodes but not nearly as much as the last few chapters did.


	6. Silver Treetop School for Boys

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

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Rory and Jess walked into Luke's just as Kirk was running out, yelling something about a love of pink. "What was that about?" Rory asked, as she sat at the counter, next to her mother.

"Nothing." Luke said, handing Jess a coffee pot.

Lorelai turned looked over at Rory. "Kirk is collecting the ribbons, and Lulu wants to keep hers."

'Oh," Rory reached into her pocket. "Speaking of ribbons..." She held out a pink ribbon.

Luke looked appalled. "You got a ribbon?"

"No, it's Jess's"

Lorelai smiled. " Aww, Jess was on my side. That's so nice."

They heard a scream, and turned to see Kirk outside, trying to pull Lulu's ribbon off her sweater.

Luke shook his head. "You know if someone opened a store in this town selling giant butterfly nets, they'd make a fortune."

Lorelai grinned. "Come on, the crazy need love too."

"Speaking of which…" He leaned over the counter and kissed her. "Welcome back."

"Nice to be here."

"Want some coffee?"

"Oh, say that again, slower and with your pants off."

Rory covered her ears. "I'm not loving where this conversation is going."

Luke shook his head. "Jess, come pour Lorelai some coffee."

"I'm not taking my pants off." He told her as filled her cup.

"No complaints here." She took a sip. "Mmm. I missed this stuff." She looked at her watch and downed the rest of it quickly. "Shit. I gotta get to the Inn." She leaned over the counter and kissed Luke. "See you later."

"Call me when you get a chance. I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Kay." She looked outside then turned back around. "Hey, Rory. Can you drive me to the Inn?"

"Sure." She hopped off her stool and followed Lorelai to her car. "Where's your Jeep?"

She walked to the passenger's side and got in the car. "I came over with Luke this morning."

"Right." Rory started the car, and pulled into the street. "So, why'd you really want me to give you a ride?"

"What's going on with you and Jess?"

"Nothing. We're friends."

"Last time we had this conversation things didn't end in just friends. And you guys did come into the diner together."

"We ran into each other at the bookstore. It wasn't a big deal."

"I didn't see any books."

"So?"

"So, you have never gone in a bookstore and not bought anything."

She pulled into the Inn parking lot. "We'll for your information I did buy a few books. They're in the back seat."

Lorelai turned around to look. "There's nothing back there"

"What?" Rory looked behind her. "Oh, right. We stopped at the house. They're on my bed."

She smirked. "Was Jess on your bed?"

"Please get out of my car."

"I'm just kidding." She got out of the car then leaned down to look at Rory. "Sort of."

"Bye Mom."

"Bye kid."

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"Luke's"

"Hi, this is Sissy. I'm looking for Butch Danes."

"Wow, two years later, and it's still not funny."

"Only from your angle. So what'd you want to talk to me about?"

"Tonight."

"Tonight?"

"I was thinking that we'd go out."

"Oh, Luke. I can't tonight. I have to work. I'm sorry. Tomorrow?"

"I have an early delivery on Sunday."

"Sunday night?"

"Sounds good."

She smiled. "Great."

"Hey, I got customers so I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye."

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Jess was looking through his bag, for something to read, when he came across a folded-up piece of paper. He looked at and sighed. _Now or never._ He got up and walked downstairs. "Hey, Luke? Are you busy?"

He looked up from where he was wiping the counter. "What's up?"

"I need to show you something."

The bell above the door rang, signaling Rory's entrance. "Luke, can I get some coffee to go?"

"Yea, one sec." He turned to his nephew. "What's up Jess?"

He handed Luke a piece of paper. "Here."

He unfolded it and smiled. "Wow. When did this happen?" He handed it back to Jess.

"When I was in California, I quickly learned that anything is better than spending everyday with Jimmy."

Rory looked at the two of them confused. "I wanna know." She pouted.

Jess handed her the paper. "Oh my God." She said, looking it over. "This is great." She walked behind the counter and hugged Jess. "I'm so proud of you."

"Me too." Luke rubbed Jess's head. "My little graduate."

He took a step away from Luke. "Knock it off."

"Hey, it's not everyday you come home with a high school diploma. We should celebrate. We're going out to dinner tonight."

"Wonderful."

"Rory, you can come with us if you want."

"Actually, I have Friday Night Dinner. But we are definitely celebrating tomorrow. If it's okay with you."

"Of course. You can have him all day."

"Great. Can you have him ready by eight?"

"Whoa." Jess said. "Eight o'clock in the morning. You don't even get up at eight on Saturdays."

"Well, I am tomorrow. Just for you."

"I feel so special."

"You should." She smiled at him. "Now if I could get some coffee, I'll be on my way."

"Right. Sorry." Luke said, grabbing a to-go cup and the coffee pot. He filled her cup and snapped the lid on. "Here ya go."

"Thanks." She pinched Jess's cheek. "I'm so proud of you." She said before heading out to her car.

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Luke leaned on the counter listening to Lorelai talk about Michel's trip to California.

"…and he won like 100 thousand dollars in prizes, but all I got was a smog globe. I mean it's not like it even gets that smoggy. How unfair is that?"

"I can not imagine Michel on The Price is Right."

"I have the video back at the Inn. We'll watch it sometime." She pushed her plate to the side. "Hit me with the pie."

"What pie?"

"The boysenberry pie."

"We're out of boysenberry pie."

"How can you be out of boysenberry pie?"

"Because someone ordered the last piece."

"But I specifically asked you to save me a piece of boysenberry pie."

"Uh, no you didn't."

"Uh, yes I did."

"When?"

"I left you a message."

"I never got a message."

"I left it on your cell phone."

"Oh, is that what that annoying beeping sound was?"

"Yes. It was telling you that your girlfriend called and asked you to save her some pie."

"Well, I don't know how to use the voicemail."

She laughed. "You don't?"

"Or anything else on this stupid thing. I know how to make a call and answer a call and then I'm out".

"Give me that. You have got to learn how to use this thing because it is very powerful and wonderful, and it will change your life." She took his phone and started pressing buttons.

"What are you doing?"

"I am putting my number on speed-dial, so all you have to do is press one, see, like I'm number one." She raised her hand in the air and held up one finger. And then…" Her cell phone started to ring. "…oh, I wonder who that could be?" She pulled it out of her purse and answered it. "Hello?"

"Give me." He took his phone back from Lorelai and talked into it. "No cell phones in the diner." He hung up and put the phone in his pocket.

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Jess walked downstairs and saw Luke putting the chairs on the tables. "What are you doing?"

Luke looked up at him. "Cleaning up."

"Why are we closing so early?"

"Because we're going out to dinner."

"You're serious? Aren't you doing something with Lorelai tonight?"

"She has to work."

"I'm your replacement date?" He said, pretending to be appalled.

"Jess."

"I don't put out on the first date, so don't get any ideas."

Luke grabbed his arm and pushed him out the door. "Let's go." He turned the lights off and followed Jess to the truck.

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Rory was driving to her grandparents' when her cell phone started ringing. She looked at the caller ID and answered it. "Hey Mom."

"Hey. How would you feel about doing a little shopping tomorrow?"

"Hurt. Confused. A little dirty."

"I need to get a new getting-back-together-with-Luke dress for my back-together-with-Luke date."

"Oh, crap. It would have to be before eight"

"Not a problem."

"In the morning."

"Well, maybe a little problem. What's going on tomorrow?"

"I'm supposed to spend the day with Jess. He got his GED when he was in California so Luke's taking him out to dinner to celebrate, and I told him since I couldn't go with them today, we'd do something tomorrow. But I'm totally free all day Sunday. We can go shopping all day until your date."

"Alright. I guess we can shop on Sunday. So why couldn't you go tonight?"

"Mom."

"What? Are you driving? Sounds like you're driving."

"I am driving."

"You are? Where are you going?"

"You know where I'm going, Mom."

"Disneyland?"

"Nope."

"Puppy world?"

"You're so immature. You're going to make me say it?"

"Say what?"

She sighed. "I am on my way to Friday night dinner."

"Ah-ha-ha! That's right. You're on the road to Hellville."

"Do not gloat."

"I'm not gloating. I'm gloating with hand gestures."

"Bye."

"And a little soft shoe."

"Got to go."

"Listen, enjoy your glazed woodcock with a side of truffled goose head."

"Oh, what a shame, I'm here."

"You are not."

"See you tomorrow."

"Oh, Rory, wait. I'm gloating with jazz hands."

"Bye, Mom."

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Jess shot Luke a glare when he saw where they where. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"I just wanna show you off a little. And tomorrow I'm gonna go buy a frame so I can hang your diploma up in the diner. I'm thinking next to the dancing pork chop."

"I hate you."

"C'mon." He pulled Jess through the back door of the Dragonfly, into the kitchen. "Hey, Sookie." He called.

"Luke?" She walked over to where she could see them. "Hey. Lorelai's at the desk."

"Actually, I wanted to know if you had any free tables tonight."

"Oh, yea. I think so. What's the occasion?"

"We're on a date." Jess said.

"Jess got his GED. We're celebrating."

"Oh, that's great. Congratulations."

Jess nodded. "Yea."

"Okay, so just go out front. Tell Lorelai or Michel you need a table. I'm making you guys a special dinner."

Luke thanked her as he and Jess headed towards the lobby.

"Hey." Lorelai said when she saw them walk out of the kitchen.

"Hey." Luke kissed her quickly.

"I can't believe you just did that." Jess said. "I should walk out of here right now."

"Huh?" Lorelai asked.

Luke shook his head. "He thinks we're on a date."

"Oh. Of course." Suddenly her face lit up. "Ooh. C'mere." She ran over to the desk. "Close your eyes." She told Jess.

"Why?"

"Just do it."

He hesitantly did what he was told.

Lorelai grabbed something from behind the desk than walked back over to Jess. "I wasn't gonna give you this till tomorrow but I guess since you're here now…" She gave him the present then turned him so he was facing the mirror. "Okay."

He opened his eyes. "Oh my God." On his head was a graduation cap with a ton of shiny ribbon sticking out of the top. "I am not wearing this."

"Oh yes, you are." Luke said, trying not to laugh.

"Wear it today or wear it all day tomorrow." Lorelai said. "Rory will make you wear it. So, your choice."

"Fine." He grumbled.

Lorelai grinned. "Great. So let me show you to your table." She waited until Luke and Jess started towards the dining room, before turning to Michel. "You, lots of pictures. There's a camera under the desk."

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Richard, Emily and Rory were sitting around the table waiting for the dessert to be served.

"So, Rory. What are you plans for spring break? Are you going anywhere with Paris?" Richard asked her.

"No. I'm staying in Stars Hollow this year. Last year when we went to Florida we decided the Spring Break life was not for us. So, I'm just going to hang out at home."

Emily smiled. "Well since you're not going anywhere, maybe you'd like to come have tea with me tomorrow." She looked up at Olympia as she set the dessert on the table. "Thank you, Olympia. Could you check reheating instructions for the goose?"

"Actually I have plans tomorrow. I promised my friend we'd spend the day together."

"Oh. Lane?"

"What?"

"Your friend. Is it Lane?"

"No. Well Lane is my friend, but no."

"Well, then who is it?"

"Jess."

She frowned. "Jess, your ex-boyfriend?"

Rory nodded and took a bite of her dessert. "Mmm Hmm."

"He's the one that likes books, right?" Richard asked, not noticing how tense Emily had gotten at the mention of Jess.

Rory smiled. "Yea. He's the only person I know who reads more than I do."

"Well, if you have time tomorrow, why don't you bring him over to look through my library?"

"That would be great, Grandpa. Jess would love that."

"Good. I should be home for an hour around three, but two you can stay as long as you want to. Just make sure you write down which books you take."

Rory got up and walked over to her grandfather. "Thank you." She said as she hugged him tightly.

Emily looked over at the warm smile that spread across Rory's face as she hugged Richard while she thought of how cold her granddaughter been acting towards her and had to force herself not to cry.

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Emily pushed the door shut behind Rory then turned around and leaned against it.

Richard smiled at her. "Well, that was a pleasant evening."

"Really? What dinner were you at?" She stood up and walked into the sitting room.

"Well, we weren't exactly sure she was coming, Emily."

"I was sure. I don't understand it. Why wasn't she here?" Before he had a chance to answer she spun around to face him. "And what is this thing with Jess? She can't seriously be back with him."

"Why not? He sounds like a perfectly respectable young man."

"Just because someone knows how to read, Richard, it doesn't mean they are 'perfectly respectful'. You weren't here when Rory brought him for dinner."

"I heard the story, Emily. Maybe the boy just had a bad day."

"He showed up with a black eye."

"You don't know that it was his fault."

"Why are you defending him? You don't even know him."

"No, but Rory does. And I trust her judgment. I know you don't like him Emily, but we'll lose her and Lorelai forever unless we let them make their own decisions."

"Fine." She turned and walked towards the stairs. "I'm going to bed."


	7. Up the Hill Backwards

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

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Lane walked into the diner at seven o'clock, tying an apron around her waist. "Hey, Luke."

He nodded. "Lane."

"Hi Lane." Kirk watched her walk around the counter.

She smiled. "Hi Kirk." She looked at the glass that was sitting in front of him. "You want some more apple juice?"

He nodded. "Yes. Thank you."

"Hey, can you watch things for a minute?" Luke asked. "I gotta get Jess up."

"Sure." Kirk said.

"Not you."

"I got it, Luke." Lane shook her head and poured Kirk's juice.

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"Jess." Luke shook his nephew's shoulder. "Jess!" When he still got no response, Luke went into the kitchen and filled a cup with cold water. He walked back to Jess's bed. "Jess!" Still nothing. He shook his head and dumped the water on his nephew.

He sat up quickly. "Jesus." He glared at Luke. "What the hell is wrong with you!"

"I've been trying to wake you up since seven."

"And?"

"And now it's twenty after. Rory's picking you up in forty minutes. I promised her you'd be ready when she got here. Now get in the shower."

He groaned and rolled out of bed. "Fine."

"You'll be downstairs at eight?"

"I'll be downstairs at eight."

"Great."

"I'll see ya in forty…thirty-six minutes."

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Lorelai bounced into the diner and immediately sat at the counter. "Morning Lucas."

He leaned across the counter and kissed her. "Hey."

"Coffee."

"How many cups did you have today?"

"None." She lied.

"You don't come bouncing in here unless you had at least four cups."

"Alright, alright. I had five. But for good reason. Rory woke me up at like 6:30 'cause she's insane."

He grabbed a mug off the shelf and filled it with coffee. "Happy?"

"Hold on." She took a sip then frowned at Luke. "Hmm…something's missing."

"What is it? Did I forget the nutmeg?"

"No…that's not it." She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. "That was it. Now I'm happy."

He smiled at her and looked down at his hands. "Me too."

"That's adorable. You're blushing."

He was about to reply, but Jess walked over and leaned on the counter. "Thirty-five minutes."

"You're early." Luke told him.

"Where's Rory?" He asked Lorelai.

"She had to run an errand, but she said she'd be here by eight." As if on cue, Rory ran into the diner.

"Time?"

Lorelai looked at her watch. "7:59 and…forty-six seconds."

"Fourteen seconds early." She congratulated herself. "You ready?" She asked Jess.

"Yep." He walked out from behind the counter, but Rory put a hand up and stopped him from going any farther. "What?"

"Turn."

He turned around and she grabbed the book that was in his back pocket. "Hey." He spun around to face her. "That's my book."

"No books. It's just you and me today." She tossed it onto the counter. "Got it?"

He held his hands up in surrender. "No books."

"Then let's go." She pushed him towards the door. "Bye Mom, Bye Luke."

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Jess looked over at Rory from the passenger's seat of her car and smiled. "So, where are you taking me?"

A mischievous smile spread across her face as she as she glanced at him. "Wouldn't you like to know."

"You're taking me out to breakfast."

"How…"

"It's eight o'clock and you didn't eat at the diner, and I know you didn't eat at your house, so…"

"Right. But that's not the surprise."

"So, what is the surprise?"

She raised an eyebrow. "You do know what surprise means, right?"

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Babette ran into the diner as soon as she saw Rory and Jess leave together. "Lorelai. Baby."

She spun around on her stool. "What's up, Babette?"

"I just saw Rory and Jess drive off together."

"Yea, they're spending the day together."

"Oh, sugar. Are those kids back together?"

"They're just friends. She took him out to celebrate because he got his GED."

"Oh. Well I gotta go. Morey's waiting for me." She turned and left the diner.

Lane walked over and stood next to Lorelai. "She's running straight to Miss Patty's."

She went back to her coffee. "Oh, yea. No doubt."

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Rory pulled her car into the parking lot in front of the building Jess brought her to the first night he saved her from Paris and Doyle. "Here we are."

"This is where we're having breakfast?"

"Yep." She sat there for a minute staring at the building, before turning to Jess. "We should give it a name."

"Do I look like Lorelai to you?"

"Well, we come here all the time and we can't keep calling it 'that empty building' so a name would be good."

"Fine. Name it. But I'm not helping."

"You're no fun." She pouted.

"Nope. Now where's my breakfast?"

She smiled and got out of the car. "C'mon." She hopped onto the porch and waited for him to catch up. "Close your eyes."

"Why?"

"Remember the whole surprise thing?"

He rolled his eyes then did as she asked. "The last time I did this your mom made me wear a hat with ribbons."

She pushed the door open then grabbed his hands and pulled him inside. "Do I look like Lorelai to you?"

"Well, there is a strong resemblance."

"No funny hats." She let go of his hands and tried to ignore the way his face fell at the loss of contact. "Alright. Open."

He opened his eyes and looked around. There was a big banner with the words 'Congratulations Jess!' hanging in the wall, a table covered in food, and a pile of presents. "Wow. Rory. You didn't have to-"

"Thank you would suffice."

He looked at her, meaningfully. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She smiled. "Now, food or presents?"

"And, uh, how much longer do you think you can you go without food?"

"Probably a good minute and a half."

"Food it is." He walked over to the table and looked at what she had laid out. "This is from Luke's."

"Yes it is. I had Caesar drop it off before we got here. I would have cooked but…food poisoning, death…not good."

"Well thanks for not wanting to kill me." He looked around the table, then at Rory. "There's no plates."

She walked over and stood next to him. "Huh. We'll just have to eat out of the containers." She handed him a fork. "Dig in."

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"Hey, Sook." Lorelai said as she walked into the kitchen at the Dragonfly. "Is there coffee?"

"Lorelai?" Sookie asked desperately.

She walked around the corner and saw Sookie and Paris covered in flour. "Paris? What are you doing here?"

"I needed to get my mind off Doyle and I didn't know where else to go."

"So you thought you'd come to the inn and blow up the kitchen?"

Sookie looked at Paris sympathetically then turned back to Lorelai. "She wanted to help."

"Alright." She put her arm around Paris's shoulder and started to guide her out of the kitchen. "How 'bout we go get you cleaned up and let Sookie do the cooking." She looked over her shoulder and mouthed 'I'm sorry' to Sookie.

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"Michel." Lorelai leaned on his desk and smiled sweetly.

"No." He said, not looking away from the paperwork he was doing.

"Michel. I need you to do me a favor."

He looked up at her. "What do you want?"

She gestured to Paris, who was looking through the bookshelf. "I need you to find something for her to do."

"Why can't you just tell her to leave?"

"Michel. Please."

He sighed. "What do you want me to give her to do?"

"Paperwork. Anything. Just keep her busy."

"Fine. I'll keep her busy."

Lorelai grinned. "Dirty."

He glared. "Get away from me."

"Thank you Michel." She said as she skipped over to Paris.

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"Luke's"

"I miss my sanity." Lorelai whined at Luke.

"It certainly took a long time for that to catch up with you."

"Can you please come over tonight?"

"I have an early delivery tomorrow."

"I know. Please."

"What's wrong?"

"Paris is here. She's driving me insane."

"Can't you find something for her to do?"

"I did. Actually Michel did, but she feels the need to discuss everything with me. I had her go to the rooms after people check out and make a list of what needs to be restocked in the bathrooms and she found fault in the brand of toilet paper we use. And she pulled me into my office to tell me why our toilet paper was bad and which toilet paper has the best softness to price ratio and she-"

"I'll pick you up at eight."

"Thank you. You are an amazing man."

He smiled. "I'll see you at eight."

"Wait. Don't hang up."

"Why?"

"Cause then I'll have to deal with Paris."

"She can't be that bad."

"There were charts."

"You love charts."

"Not when Paris makes them."

"Bye Lorelai."

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"Okay." Rory put a present on Jess's lap and sat on the floor in front of him. "If you don't like I have the receipt so…"

He put the present on the floor between them. "Do you know why I'm here?"

She pretended she didn't know what he was talking about. "I dragged you here."

"Rory…"

She looked at the floor then back up at him. "Jess. Not right now. Okay?"

He nodded and she handed him the present.

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"Come on." Rory pulled Jess towards the front door of her grandparents' house.

He shook his head. "I am not going in there."

"Jess. Relax. My grandfather will be here for an hour and then it'll just be you and me."

"Why are we even here?"

"You'll see when we get in there." She grabbed his hand and dragged him to the front door. "You're worse than Mom." She rang the bell and the maid opened the door. "Hi. We're here to see Mr. Gilmore."

She moved out of the way so they could go inside then took their coats. "Mr. Gilmore is in his study."

"Thank you." She smiled and nodded.

"Do we really have to do this?" Jess asked.

"Quit complaining." She walked to Richard's study and knocked on the door.

The door opened and Richard smiled. "Rory. You're right on time." He hugged his granddaughter then turned to Jess. "Ah, and you must be Jess. It's nice to meet you." He held his hand out.

Rory shot Jess a 'be nice' look so he grasped Richard's hand and shook it. "You too, Mr. Gilmore"

"Please, call me Richard."

He nodded. "Richard."

"Now, my granddaughter tells me that you're here to look at my books."

"Then I guess that's why we're here."

"Why don't you come into my study, so I can show you my collection."

"Okay."

Rory watched Richard walk back into his study then smiled at Jess. "He likes you."

"Well don't sound so shocked. I'm a very likable person."

"I know. But he usually doesn't like any of the guys me and Mom bring over."

"That's just because you never brought me over."

She smiled. "Come on. These are the only books you're gonna get to look at all day so make the most of it."

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Richard, Rory and Jess were sitting around the desk, looking at the books they had taken off the shelf. "When Rory told me that you read more than her, I thought she was exaggerating."

"Nope" Rory said. "He's constantly taking my books even if he's read them fifty and writing notes in the margins."

"He writes in your books?"

"Just his thoughts and interpretations." She picked up her purse and pulled _Howl_ out of it. "Here."

He opened the book and read what Jess had written. "Wow." He closed the book and handed it back to Rory. "That's an impressive thought." He told Jess, before looking at his watch. "Oh, it's already quarter to five. I have a meeting in fifteen minutes." He stood up and shook Jess's hand. "Jess, it was nice to meet you." He took a book out of his desk and handed it to him. "That's a first edition. Think of it as a gift for whatever it is you two are celebrating." He turned to Rory. "I'll see you on Friday."

"Bye Grandpa." She gave him a quick hug then he picked up his briefcase and ran out the door.

Jess flipped through the book Richard gave him. "Huh"

"What?" Rory asked.

He turned the book around so she could see the inside front cover.

She leaned forward so she could see what was written there. "Wow. Is that a signature?"

"Yep."

"I didn't know he had that." She smiled. "He seems to really like you."

"I told you, I'm very likable."

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Lorelai's jaw dropped when a huge motor home stopped in front of the inn. "What the hell is that?"

"That is my 'over one hundred thousand dollars in cash and prizes' and it wasn't supposed to arrive for two more days."

A man stepped out of the motor home and looked around. "Is Michel Gerard here?"

"Yes." Michel said.

He handed Michel the keys to the motor home. "Well, Michel Gerard, I am pleased to present you with your motor home. Step on inside and I'll show you how everything works."

Lorelai turned to Michel. "This can not be here. Get rid of it."

"I don't even want it. I was going to sell it. I had two more days."

"Okay, sir." She said to the guy that delivered it. "Could I, uh, pay you to just take this away for an hour? You know, drive it around, show it the sights?"

"Sorry it's out of my hands."

"Alright, uh, Sookie go get Paris."

"Paris?"

"Yes. Go." She turned to Hal. "If we get this thing out of here can you still get the shots?"

"I don't know. We're losing light. You have to get rid of it immediately."

"Okay, no problem." She looked at the door and saw Paris come outside. "Paris!"

"What do you want? I was on the phone with your suppliers."

"Sorry, but I need this thing gone." She pointed to the motor home.

"I don't know how to drive that thing."

"No but that guy does." She gestured to the guy who dropped it off. "And he won't move it."

She nodded and took the keys from Michel. "Hey, you!" She yelled as she walked towards him. "Move this piece of crap."

"Hey, I delivered the keys. That means it's not my problem anymore."

Lorelai watched Paris for another minute before sighing in relief as the guy climbed into the motor home and drove away. "Okay, the light's still good?"

Hal looked around. "It'll take a couple minutes for the dust to settle, but we should be okay."

"Thank God."

Paris walked over and stopped in front of Michel. "They're gonna send you the full cash value plus another thousand for the trouble in two days."

He threw his arms around her. "I love you."

Lorelai laughed at the glare Paris shot her. "Okay." She put her arms around their shoulders and led them towards the porch. "Let's go inside so Hal here can take his pictures. And Michel, if you ever, ever pull something like that again, I will kill you."

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Rory and Jess sat in the car outside the elder Gilmore's house. "I didn't actually make any plans after this." Rory told him. "We did the breakfast and the presents and we saw _The Graduate _and we looked through my grandpa's books and that was the extent of my plans."

"Why don't we just go back to Stars Hollow? We could go to Luke's or watch another movie or something."

"But it's your day. We're supposed to be celebrating."

"Rory it's after five. We've been celebrating all day."

She sighed dramatically. "Fine. But let the record show that I wanted to celebrate some more."

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Rory stopped the car in front of her house and turned to Jess. "I'm ready to talk…or listen now."

He opened the door and got out of the car. "C'mon." He walked onto the porch and leaned against the railing.

She stood next to him and waited for him to speak.

"I'm sorry. I know it's too late for that, but you deserve to hear it. And you were right. Everything you said to me the day you graduated. You were right. I should have talked to you. I should've let you help me. I should've let you in. But I couldn't. Because I didn't want to get hurt." He ran a hand through his hair. "God damn it, Rory. I wasn't supposed to be this person. I wasn't supposed to need you like this. I wasn't supposed to fall in love."

She really had no idea what to say to that so she just took a step towards him and pressed her lips against his.

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A/N: You guys are really slacking with the reviews. I'm gonna cry. I update as soon as I finish my chapters and I get nothing. I feel so slighted. But on a slightly nicer note, I'd love some suggestions on what to name that building. Thanks. Oh and I noticed that no one commented on it, so the first person to tell me what the all chapter names have in common will be congratulated.


	8. Do Anything you Say

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

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Jess was shocked. When he heard about the vow renewal from…well actually he found out from a co-worker whose friend was catering it, but as soon as he heard about it, he know he had to see her. And that's all he thought it would be. He'd watch her for a little while and then he'd leave. No one would know. Obviously that plan had been shot to hell because here he was back in Stars Hollow. With Rory Gilmore kissing him and he was too shocked to respond. He realized this and relaxed, but by the time he started to kiss her back she was pulling away.

"Oh my God." Her hand went to her mouth and she took a step back.

"Rory…"

"No." She held a hand up so he wouldn't come any closer. "Just…I need to think. Okay?"

"Yea." He said softly.

She nodded and ran inside.

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Luke pulled up to The Dragonfly and saw Lorelai and Paris sitting on the front steps. "Hey." Luke said as he walked towards them.

"Hi." Paris said flippantly.

"Hey." Lorelai got up and kissed him quickly. "You're late."

"It's only quarter after." He looked over her shoulder at Paris and pulled her back a few feet. "Why is Paris still here?"

"She's coming home with us."

"Oh…why? I thought she was driving you insane."

"She was. But then she got rid of the motor home, and it's Spring Break, and she has nowhere else to go."

"The motor home?"

She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the truck. "Tell ya what. How 'bout we go home, and after we get Paris all settled in with Rory, you can make me some coffee and I'll fill you in."

"Sure. Let's go."

"Alright." She waved Paris over. "C'mon Paris." She turned back to Luke. "She's gonna follow us in her car."

"Okay." He got in the car and waited for Lorelai to climb in next to him. "Ready?"

She looked behind them to see if Paris was ready to go then turned back to Luke. "Affirmative." She nodded then grinned at him.

"What?"

"You didn't even argue when I said you had to make me coffee."

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When they got home, Lorelai brought Paris to Rory's room and Luke started the coffee on Lorelai's orders. "Hey." He called from the kitchen. "Should I make some for Rory and Paris?"

"Rory's not here."

"What?"

She walked into the kitchen when she heard the panic in his voice. "She's out with Jess. Remember the whole GED thing?"

"She's not with Jess. He's been at the diner since six. She was not with him."

"Well maybe she went over there for dinner after you left or she went to Lane's or something." She sat in the chair next to her. "Oh my God, my kid's missing." She took the phone Luke was holding out to her and dialed her daughter's number.

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Rory picked up her cell phone when it started ringing and checked the caller ID. "Luke?" She answered.

"Oh thank God." Lorelai let out a sigh of relief. "Where the hell are you?"

"At the bridge. Why?"

"Well, we got home and you weren't here and Luke started to panic 'cause you were supposed to be with Jess but he's at the diner and you're not and we didn't know where you were and Mommy freaked out a little."

"Sorry. I thought I'd be home before you or I would've left a note. I guess I lost track of time."

"No, it's fine. Just go back to whatever it was you were doing. Especially if it's something Taylor wouldn't approve of."

"I'm reading."

"Ugh. At least tell me it's something dirty."

"_Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and peasant and the making of the modern world._"

"Sounds dirty to me."

"Hey, I'll be home after I finish this chapter. Okay?"

"Only if you carve something obscene on the bridge."

"And what would you like me to use to deface public property?"

"I heard you keep a knife in your sock."

"Bye Mom."

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Rory got home around nine-thirty and walked to the living room where she heard her mother talking to the television. "I'm home." She called.

Lorelai paused her movie when Rory plopped down on the couch next to her. "How'd your juvenile delinquencies go?"

"I'm not a juvenile."

"Well, then, your regular delinquencies?"

"Where's Luke?"

"He's upstairs. He has to get up early, so…"

"I kissed him." She blurted out.

"Luke? Eww." She gasped. "Oh my God, I'm Mrs. Robinson."

"Jess."

"Jess kissed him too?"

"Mom!"

"Sorry. Just…you kissed Jess."

"Yea."

"So what now? Are you guys back together?"

"Well, umm…I kinda ran away after I kissed him."

Lorelai shrugged. "At least you're consistent."

"What should I do?"

"Oh, honey." She ran a hand over Rory's hair. "You gotta do what makes you happy.

You know I can't make the decision for you. But no matter what you do, I'm behind you ninety seven percent."

"I thought you liked Jess."

"Like is such a strong word. I mean I like waxing my legs. Jess is more something I tolerate."

"You said he wasn't so bad."

Her eyes went wide as she clasped a hand over her daughter's mouth. "Shh. Don't say it out loud. People might hear."

"The only other person in the house is asleep."

"I think the place is bugged."

"Why would anyone bug our house?"

"It's Taylor. He's trying to ruin me."

Rory shook her head. "Luke is a brave man." She leaned over and hugged Lorelai. "We have some major shopping to do tomorrow, so I'm gonna go to bed. Night Mom." She stood up and headed towards her room.

Lorelai sat back on the couch and ran a hand through her hair. "She kissed Jess." She said quietly.

"Paris is in my bed." Rory said as she walked back into the living room.

Lorelai raised an eyebrow. "Did I not mention that?"

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Lorelai snuggled up to Luke and wrapped her arm around his waist. "Luke." She whispered, putting her lips right next to his ear.

"Hmm." He mumbled sleepily.

She placed a soft kiss on his temple. "I'm glad you're here."

"Mmm." He turned over and buried his face in her neck. "Me too."

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"Rory." Lorelai whined. "I need coffee before we go shopping and at this rate we'll never even get out of the house."

"Sorry." She banged on the bathroom door. "C'mon Paris! Mom's going into caffeine withdrawal."

"I'll be out in a minute."

Lorelai pointed at the door. "She said that an hour ago."

"Why don't you just go to Luke's and get coffee and breakfast and we'll meet you at the mall. Then we can hit the cute place. Okay?"

"Are we avoiding a certain someone who works at the diner?" She smirked.

"I'm not avoiding him. I just don't want to leave Paris alone in the house."

She scoffed. "Liar. You know you're gonna have to talk to him eventually."

"I know. Just not now. I'm not ready to talk to him yet."

"Alright, kiddo. I'll see you at the mall."

"Only if I can get Paris out of the damn bathroom!" She yelled as she banged on the door a few more times.

"Okay." Lorelai nodded. "I'm just gonna go to Luke's. And I'll let you deal with Paris."

"Sounds fair to me." She replied sarcastically.

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Lorelai skipped into the diner and immediately started talking. "I need to meet Rory and Paris at the mall in like a half an hour so I need coffee now and pancakes and where is Luke?" She asked when she realized Lane and a few customers were the only people there.

"He's in the back." Lane told her. "Do you want me to get him?"

"No. I got it." She went around the counter and into the storage room.

Luke looked up from the shipment he was unloading when he heard the door open. "Who let you back here?"

She smiled as she shut the door behind her. "Lane."

He grabbed her around the waist and kissed her softly. "No one listens to me."

"You complaining?" She put her hands on either side of his face and pulled his lips down to hers.

He kissed her a few more times before resting his forehead against hers. "No. But you still shouldn't be back here."

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "But we can't do this out front."

"I have to get back to work."

"Can't Jess do it?"

"Oh, yea. Let me get my nephew down here to do my job so I can make out in the storage room."

"Sounds good."

He laughed and kissed her forehead. "Come on. I'll get you some coffee."

She tilted her head to the side, weighing her options. "Fine. But only because I haven't had any today. And don't expect me to be so easily distracted by your offers of warm beverages tonight."

"Don't expect me to try to distract you with offers of warm beverages tonight."

"Why Mr. Danes, are you flirting with me?"

He pressed his lips against hers one more time before pulling her out to the front room. "Sit." He said, guiding her to the counter.

She sat on the stool next to the register and waited for him to pour her coffee. "Hey Luke."

"What?" He asked as he filled her cup.

"You know Jess?"

"My nephew? Yes."

"And Rory?"

"I know her too."

"Well what would you say if I told you something happened with them yesterday?"

"I know."

"You do?"

"Jess comes to work on his day off, a day he's supposed to be spending with Rory, it kinda tips me off."

"Right." She took a sip of her coffee. "Speaking of Rory, I need to meet her in Hartford in about twenty minutes. So…pancakes?"

"You want chocolate chips?"

"And whipped cream."

"Coming right up."

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Rory and Paris were sitting outside a dressing room surrounded by a pile of bags waiting for Lorelai to come out. "C'mon Mom. We wanna see."

"Alright. Alright." Lorelai walked out of the room and twirled around. "So?"

Rory stood up to get a closer look at the dress. "Mom, you look beautiful. This dress is great."

"Really? Paris?"

Paris looked her up and down. "It's kinda sparkly."

She looked down at the pink dress she was wearing. "You're right. It's too sparkly."

"Don't listen to her." Rory told her. "It's not too sparkly."

"Yes it is. I look like a chandelier."

"You do not. You look great."

"Really? Paris?"

"Well…" Rory shot her a look and she nodded. "Yea. You look great."

Lorelai smiled. "Great." She went back into the dressing room.

"What is wrong with you?" Rory asked Paris.

"What?"

"That dress is great."

"I don't like sparkles."

"Well Mom does. And her date is in like two hours so we need to get out of here."

"Sorry." She looked down at her feet.

"Are you okay?"

"Why hasn't Doyle called me?"

"I don't know. Maybe he…I don't know, Paris."

"Maybe I'm not good."

"Oh my God."

"I was good enough for Asher. He said-"

"Paris!"

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Lorelai looked herself over in the mirror then turned around unhappily. "Rory!"

"What?" She called from downstairs.

"It's too sparkly."

"No it isn't."

"I look-"

"If the word chandelier comes out of your mouth…"

"Are you sure it's okay?"

"Luke won't be able to keep his hands off you."

She smiled gleefully as she smoothed her dress.

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Rory sat next to Paris on the couch after she finished convincing Lorelai that the dress was fine. "She's impossible."

"This is depressing."

She looked at the movie that Paris had on. It was a sixties beach dance party movie. "Why?"

"All these people are dead."

"That movie is from the sixties. They're not all dead."

"Well, they're old. Osteoporosistic. These days if they shake it, they break it. That makes me sad."

"Okay." She grabbed the remote and turned the television off. "Get up. We're going out."

"Where?"

"I don't know. Wherever. We just need to get out of the house and do something." She paused when the phone started ringing. "Hold on." She picked the phone up. "Hello?"

"Oh my God!" Lane screamed.

"Hi."

"When did this happen? How? Where? I want all the details."

"You're gonna have to help me out a little here."

"You kissed Jess! Spill."

"If you're not doing anything tonight why don't you come hang out with us and I can tell you."

"Who's us? I thought Lorelai had a date tonight."

"She does. Paris is here."

"Okay. I'll be there in four and a half minutes."

"We'll see you then." She hung the phone up and turned back to Paris. "Lane's gonna come over and hang out with us. That's okay with you, right?"

"Whatever. Can I put my movie back on?"

"No. We're going to have a fun girls' night. With no depressing movies. And if that means we have to stick to movies made after 1980 then so be it."

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Rory skipped up to the front counter at Black, White, and Read. She, Paris, and Lane had been there for about two hours. No one else was there, so they asked Kirk to put a cartoon on for Paris's benefit. "Kirk." She sang.

"Yes, Rory?"

"Our movie's over. Can you put on another one?"

"No."

"No?"

"We're closing now. Mother says I have to be home before ten-thirty."

"Kirk, you really need to move out of your mom's house."

"Yea, that's what Luke said." Suddenly something snapped in Kirk. "Lock up behind you." He threw the keys at Rory and ran out the door.

She looked helplessly towards the theater. "Do either of you know how to work a projector?"

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A/N: I'm not doing cartwheels over this chapter. It really felt like filler to me. So if any of you feel the same way, I'm sorry. The next chapter will definitely have more substance.


	9. I Wish You Would

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

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Rory and Paris walked into the Gilmore house at eight-thirty after spending the night at the theater. They had been up until six watching movies and talking when the three of them fell asleep on Big Red, only to be woken up two hours later when a worried Zach called Lane's cell phone to find out where she'd been all night.

"Ugh." Paris groaned as she collapsed on the couch. "Need sleep."

Rory made her way to her room and dropped onto her bed. "Yea." She agreed before burying her face in her pillow. She sat up quickly when she realized her bed wasn't made. "My God. Does she let people sleep in my bed every night?" She got up and walked to the living room to see if there were any messages on the machine. When she saw the light blinking she pressed play and heard her mother's voice fill the room. "Hey, hon. I just wanted to tell you that Kirk moved out of his mother's house last night. Also I advise you to change your sheets. Now put those together, and you get what? That's right. Kirk slept in your bed. Wait for it. Wait for it. Naked. Yes. Kirk slept in your bed naked." Rory took off her jacket and threw it on the floor disgustedly. "Oh God. Shower…I need…shower…oh God." She started towards the bathroom, but stopped mid-step when she heard a voice that definitely should not be on their answering machine. "Hey Lor." He said hesitantly. "It's Chris. Umm, I think we need to talk, so just…call me when you get this and we can maybe go to lunch or something. Okay. Bye." She angrily deleted the messages then made sure Paris was asleep before grabbing her keys and walking out of the house.

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Lorelai slid onto the stool next to the register and put her head on the counter. "Coffee." She said when she heard someone walk out of the kitchen.

"Hey." Jess poured her some coffee and put the mug in front of her. "You okay?"

She looked up, surprised. "Uh, yea. Nothing a little coffee can't fix." She picked up the mug and took a sip. "Thanks."

It was his turn to be surprised. "No problem." He grabbed his order pad and turned to her. "What do you want to eat?"

"Just some fries. I gotta get back to the inn."

"Coming right up." He went to the kitchen and gave her order to Caesar.

"Hey, Jess." Lorelai called.

He went back to the counter. "Yea?"

She held up her cup and grinned.

He grabbed the coffee pot and refilled her mug. "So, uh…what….how…"

"Rory's good." She smiled.

"Oh. Good. That's good."

"She's not avoiding you."

"Yes she is."

"Okay, yes she is. But she'll come around. She just needs some time."

"Yea." He said quietly.

She downed the rest of her coffee and stood up. "Alright kid. I gotta go. Tell Luke I'll call him. And just give it some time, okay." She started out when he nodded, but turned around when she reached the door. "Hey, enjoy those fries." She smiled and left.

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Christopher pulled his front door open when he heard someone banging on it and saw his daughter. "Rory."

She pushed past him into his apartment. "Don't 'Rory' me."

He shut the door and looked at her. "What?"

"You…what is wrong with you?"

"Wha-"

"You called her? Why would you call her? After what you did. How could you think she'd be okay with that? Every time you walk into our lives you break her! And I don't know exactly what happened between you and Mom and Luke, but it broke all of us. We lost the only person who was always there. Who wouldn't walk out on us for anything. Do you not get that? You knew exactly what would happen the moment you showed up at the wedding and you still think it's okay to call her. But it's not. They're finally getting things back the way they were and you are not going to ruin that. She's happy. They both are. He's the one, Dad, not you."

He walked to the kitchen and sat at the table. "You think I don't know that? Do you think I couldn't see that? I have never seen her so happy, except the day you were born."

She sat down across from him. "Then why would you do that?"

"I don't know. I was jealous and drunk and…stupid. I guess when Emily came here and told me what was going on, I thought I might have a chance, but when I got there and saw her and Luke together I knew it was over."

"Hence the drinking."

"Yea."

"Why did you call?"

"I don't know. I guess I wanted to see if there was something left to salvage. A friendship. Anything."

"There isn't. You can't be part of her life anymore. If you ever need anything, call me, but leave her alone. Please."

He nodded. "Okay."

Her eyes went wide when she saw one of Gigi's toys sitting on the counter behind Christopher. "Oh my God. Is Gigi here? I was yelling and I didn't even think-"

"She's with my mom."

"Oh."

"Yea." They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence, until Christopher realized he hadn't asked how his daughter was. "So what's been going on with you?"

"Not much. It's spring break so no school."

"Right. How's the kid from the wedding?"

"Logan. And I don't really know. We're not together."

"Oh. Why not?"

"You could at least try to hide your excitement." She smiled at him. "He just wasn't the right guy."

"Good. I didn't like him."

"You never liked any of my boyfriends."

"That's one of my rights as your father."

"Sure." She stood up. "I need to go. I really need to shower and change my clothes…and change my sheets."

"Why?"

"Naked Kirk was in my bed last night."

"I'm sorry…what?"

"Kirk needed some where to stay and since I wasn't home, Mom let him stay in my room."

"So you weren't…you know?"

"Dad! Eww."

"Sorry. You say there was a naked guy in your bed, what do you expect me to think?"

"I'm not sleeping with Kirk."

He got up and hugged her. "Thank god."

"Hey, Dad."

"Yea?"

"Do you remember Jess?"

"Your ex-boyfriend? The one who crashed your car?"

"Yea. I kissed him on Saturday. Bye." She nodded and ran out of the apartment.

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"Hey Michel." Lorelai called as she walked out of the kitchen at the inn. "Where's Sookie?"

"I do not know. That vegetable man of hers was here about an hour ago. Maybe she left with him."

"Oh, right. She had a checkup today. I forgot. Can I have the phone?"

"No."

She shook her head as she leaned across the desk and took the phone. "Mean." She walked away and dialed her house number.

"Hello?" Paris answered.

"Hey Paris. It's Lorelai."

"Hi."

"So what are you up to?"

"Eating ice cream and watching Casablanca."

"He still didn't call?"

"What do you think?"

"Okay. Can I talk to Rory?"

"No."

"Oh."

"She's not here."

"Where is she?"

"She wasn't here when I woke up so I called her and she said she had to pick something up from Yale. She didn't even leave a note. She just left."

"Okay."

"If Richard calls with those estimates, give him my cell number."

"Richard? As in my father?"

"Yea. I was looking over your insurance papers when I was there and you are totally getting ripped off. I talked to your father about the prices and he said he he'd call me with some estimates. Of course they won't be exact, because he's going to have to look at the inn but it'll give us a general idea."

"Okay." She said unsurely. "I'll tell him to call you."

"Great."

"Bye Paris."

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After he took a shower and got dressed, Jess walked out of the bathroom in the apartment, but stopped short when he saw Rory sitting on the couch playing with his cell phone. "Rory?"

She turned around and smiled at him. "Hey."

He walked over and sat next to her. "What are you doing?"

She held up his cell phone. "You, my friend, are very lacking in phone numbers."

"What?" He took the phone out of her hand and scrolled through the numbers. "This is the whole town."

"Pretty much." She nodded. "You never know who you might need to talk to."

He put the phone down and looked at her. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm…well…I came to see you." She mumbled as she looked down at her hands.

"What?" He frowned when she didn't answer. "Rory."

She looked up at him. "I came to see you."

"Oh."

"So, when does your shift start?" She asked, not yet ready to talk about the real reason she was there.

"Umm, eight."

"Oh."

"Yea. Luke's going to see Lorelai, so…"

"Right."

He sighed. "This didn't used to be so awkward."

"Why didn't you say goodbye?"

"Rory…"

"Jess. Please."

"I couldn't. I needed to get away from here. Rory, I was so screwed up, and I knew I wouldn't be able to leave if you asked me to stay."

"That morning, on the bus…part of me knew you weren't coming back. But I guess I just wanted to pretend you'd be there when I got home."

"I didn't know what else to do. I was screwing everything up." He stood up and walked over to the window before facing her again. "I wasn't graduating high school. I couldn't take you to your prom."

"You think I cared about that? I mean, of course I wanted you to graduate, but it was never about that, Jess." She walked over to him and put her hand on his arm.

He looked down at where she was touching him then back up at her face. "You should have listened."

"To what?"

"To everybody. They all told you I wasn't good enough."

"I am so tired of this self pity crap. Yea, everybody told me you weren't good enough…well except Luke…but I chose you. I wanted to be with you and that was my choice, because I saw something no one else did. And maybe along the way we both forgot it was there, but we grew up, Jess. You're stopped hiding, and I finally saw what would make a sixteen year old girl with a baby run away with no money and no where to go. I want to be happy without having to worry about what everyone else wants. I just want to do something because it's what I want." She slid her hand down his arm and laced her fingers through his.

He squeezed her hand and smiled at her. "Well, who am I to keep a Gilmore from what she wants?"

"I am very glad you feel that way." She leaned up but stopped herself just short of lips. "Obviously I don't care what you want because I'm doing this for completely selfish reasons, but I just thought you should know that I'm gonna kiss you."

He didn't give her a chance to as he his lips were on hers as soon as she stopped talking.

"Cheater." She pouted when he pulled away.

He kissed her again then leaned his forehead against hers, smiling. "Aren't we full of complaints today."

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Actually I have one more."

He groaned in mock annoyance. "What?"

"I haven't had Luke's coffee in almost three days."

"You've gone longer without Luke's coffee."

"Yea, but other than a couple hours this morning, I have spent every moment of the past two days with Paris. Do you have any idea what that's like? After that trip to Washington there were some serious thoughts about a murder-suicide thing."

"Alright. Let's go. My shift's starting anyway. I'm surprised Luke hasn't started yelling yet."

"Luke left. The place is dead. You, my friend, are all-" She stopped when they heard the bell above the door downstairs ring and Kirk start yelling Luke's name. Rory looked towards the apartment door. "Mine and Kirk's." She finished lamely.

Jess sighed and stepped away from her. "Is he even allowed out this late?"

"Didn't you hear? He moved out of his mom's house yesterday."

"Really?" He started towards the door, watching Rory to make sure she was following him.

"Yea, and let me give you this little tidbit of fun before you guess where he slept last night. Kirk sleeps naked." She followed him out of the apartment and pulled the door closed behind her, smiling when she heard him start laughing. "It's not funny." She whined. "I climbed into that bed when I got home this morning."


	10. I've Been Waiting For You

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

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"Guess what I just heard." Lorelai called as she walked into the diner.

"What's that, honey?" Miss Patty asked, looking up from her lunch.

She hesitated for a second. "Actually, I was talking to Luke."

"Oh, well go ahead."

She nodded as she walked to the counter and sat on her stool. "Guess what?"

"That's my greeting?"

"Sorry." She leaned across the counter and kissed him, then sat back down. "Guess what?"

"You know Patty's still watching."

She waved it off. "Yea, she'll find out anyway. Guess what?"

"You really expect me to guess?"

"Uh, yea."

"No."

"Fine. Rory and Jess are back together."

"What?"

"Yep. Yesterday. They made out all night."

"Oh, Jeez."

"They played tonsil hockey"

"Lorelai!"

"They were tonguing it."

"Please stop."

"Making with the lip action, locking lips, planting a big one, puckering up, smooching, sucking face, swapping spit, tongue wres-"

"Oh my God! How can you talk about Rory like that?"

"Because of our strong, deep rooted mother-daughter love." She grinned at him. "Can I have some coffee?"

"No."

"Please Luke." She begged. "I haven't had any today."

He scoffed. "Please. I made you a pot before I left this morning. And I'm sure you had more when you got to the inn."

"Yes, okay. That's true. But I haven't had Luke's coffee."

"So the coffee I made earlier was…"

"That was crappy Lorelai coffee that you just happened to put in the coffee maker."

"I'm not going to support your addiction."

"I'll be your best friend." She narrowed her eyes when he shook his head. "I'll tell Patty and Babette about our sex life."

He glared but filled a mug and put it in front of her. "You play dirty."

She smiled happily. "You know it, baby." She took a sip of her coffee. "Mmm. Has this always tasted so good?"

"It's been exactly the same for years."

She immediately thought of when he had gotten back together with Rachel, and Rory commented on the coffee tasting different. "Did Rachel leave because of me?"

"What?"

"Well, I remember when you and Rachel got back together, when she came back here, umm, your coffee tasted different. And then I was thinking about you and Rachel and how you said she had her reasons for leaving, and I was just wondering if, you know…it was me."

He looked around the diner, noting that Miss Patty had left money on the table and left, probably after hearing about Rory and Jess, and that the only customers were a couple he didn't recognize, most likely just passing through town, before answering her. "Rachel left because of me. Because she knew that I had feeling for you."

"Oh." She shook her head. "We were stupid for a lot of years."

"Yea." He agreed.

She looked at her watch and stood up. "I gotta get back to the inn. I'll see you tonight?"

"Who will feed you otherwise?"

"That's what I like to hear." She smiled and grabbed her purse off the counter. "I'll call you when I'm leaving so you can head to my house or whatever. You don't have to wait for me."

He nodded and walked over to her. He put his hands on her hips and kissed her softly. "I'll see you tonight."

"I think I like you on this side of the counter better. Well actually I like you even better upstairs because we-"

He kissed her one more time, cutting her off, before pushing her towards the door. "Quit stalling."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do. You already told me that Paris and your father were gonna be looking around the inn today."

"Bleh. Stupid insurance guys."

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Rory walked to the bridge after she filled her mother in on the previous day's happenings. Well, she omitted the part about her father, but the Jess part was enough to take up all morning and a couple hours of the afternoon.

"Hey." Jess looked up at her and closed the book he was reading. "What are you doing here?"

She sat next to him and kissed him quickly. "Looking for you."

"I actually meant why are you not with Paris."

"Oh, she's at the inn. Some insurance thing. I don't know."

"Right. So, did you tell Lorelai?"

"Where'd you think I was all morning?"

"Telling Lorelai. And Lane."

"How…"

"I heard the screaming."

He jaw dropped. "From here?"

"I was at the diner, but it was still pretty loud."

"Lane can be…enthusiastic."

He nodded. "The other day at work, Lane was telling me that the band had a gig tonight."

"Yes they do. At eleven. In Hartford."

"Well, I was thinking that we could maybe have dinner then go see them play."

"Are you asking me out, Mr. Mariano?"

He put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. "Mmm-hmm." He mumbled, kissing the top of her head.

"I suppose so." She said overdramatically.

"I'll pick you up at nine."

"Okay." She looked at the book sitting next him and tried to see what the cover said. "What'cha reading?"

"Hemingway. The book your grandfather gave to me."

"Read to me. I could use a nap." She grinned at him.

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Lorelai headed towards the kitchen at the Dragonfly, looking for Michel, after finding the front desk empty. "Sook?" She called as she pushed the door open. "Hey Jackson." She said when she saw him leaning on the counter.

"Hi Lorelai." He nodded.

She looked behind him and saw Michel as well as the rest of the staff glaring at her. "Wow. Whose puppy did I kill?"

"You." Michel pointed at her. "You brought her here."

"I…what? Who?" She asked, confused.

"I think you can do a little better than that, buddy." They heard Paris say loudly, causing a few of the waiters to cringe.

"Oh. Michel, I thought you liked her."

"I'm sorry, have you met her?"

She raised an eyebrow when she heard Sookie let out a strangled cry. "Sookie?" She looked at Jackson. "Is she okay?"

"Paris sent her food back three times."

"Ooh. Really?" She grimaced. "Sookie." She called. "I'm sorry."

Sookie walked around the corner and glared. "We wouldn't have a problem if he wasn't such a wimp." She pointed at Jackson with a wooden spoon then went back to what she was doing.

Lorelai looked at Jackson. "What?"

"She called me, crying, when Paris sent her food back the second time and asked me to come help her, but I really don't want to go out there."

"She scares me too." She whispered, patting him on the arm.

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"Lucy, I'm home." Lorelai called as she closed the front door behind her.

"Bedroom." Rory yelled back.

She hung up her purse and her coat then made her way to her daughter's room. "Hey." She looked around the room, which was covered in clothes, and smirked. "Spring cleaning?"

Rory stopped searching through the small amount of clothes still in her closet and looked at Lorelai. "No."

"Date?"

"I don't know what to wear." She dropped the skirt she was holding and flopped onto the bed.

She walked over to Rory's desk and picked up a couple shirts. "Where are you going?"

"Dinner and then Hartford to see the band play."

"Okay. Concert. You're probably gonna want to go with pants then. Uh…" She looked around and spotted a pair of dark blue jeans. "These with…" She took a purple David Bowie t-shirt out of the closet and held it up. "This."

Rory sat up and took them from her. "Thank you."

Lorelai sat on the bed and watched her daughter start to put the pile of clothes away. What time is Jess picking you up?"

"Nine. That gives us two hours before the show starts."

"Sounds good kiddo."

"Yep. So, what are you and Luke doing?"

"Hmm." She thought about for a second then looked at Rory. "Probably have sex."

"Mom."

"Well I'm not gonna lie to you."

"I really wish you would."

She laughed then quickly sat up. "Ooh. I didn't tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"Guess where Paris is."

"She's not here?"

"She's at my parents' house. For the night."

"Why?"

"Dad's teaching her about the insurance business."

"She's pre-med."

"I know." She said giddily. "How great is that?"

"Happy to get rid of her?"

"My entire staff is afraid of her. She made Sookie cry. Even Michel was hiding from her."

"Well, not many people can handle the Paris experience."

"Nope. It's like the Marines."

"Of course." She said sarcastically.

"It is. The few. The proud. The people who can be around Paris for extended periods of time without wanting to stab screwdrivers into their ears." She looked thoughtful for a second. "Actually that's kinda like being around my parents. Except with them you want to go straight for the heart."

Rory shook her head and pulled her mother off the bed. "Alright. I need to get ready for my date."

"You're kicking me out? After all of done for you?"

"Yes." She pushed her out of the room and closed the door.

"Fine. See if I ever give birth to you again." Lorelai yelled.

"Bye Mom."


	11. New York's in Love

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

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Rory and Lorelai were sitting on the couch a little before nine, waiting for Jess to get there. "I'm nervous." Rory said, fidgeting with her purse. "Is that crazy? I mean I've been on a date with Jess before."

"Well, it's been a long time for you guys." Lorelai said. "It's okay to be a little nervous. I was nervous during my first date with Luke after we got back together. And we were only broken up for two weeks."

"So not crazy?"

"No. I bet he'll be nervous too."

"When have you ever seen Jess nervous?"

"Well…never." She lied.

"You saw nervous Jess? When?"

She grabbed Rory's hand. "It was after the wedding thing. We'll talk about it when you get home tonight. Or in the morning. Or the afternoon. Or tomorrow night. Or-"

"Mom. Stop."

"Sorry. Just trying to be 'cool mom'. I'll stop."

"Thank you."

They heard a car pull up and Lorelai jumped off the couch and went to the window. "It's him." She told Rory. "You ready?"

"Hair. How's my hair?"

"Good. Hair's good. Make-up's good. Girl's perfect."

Rory nodded and stood up. "Let's hope Jess agrees."

There was a knock on the door and Lorelai grabbed Rory. "Go upstairs."

"Okay…why?"

"You don't want him to think you were waiting for him."

"Right. Okay."

Lorelai waited until Rory was out of sight before going to the door and pulling it open. "Jess. What are you doing here?"

"I…Rory…we're going out. Did she not tell you?" He asked, sounding upset.

"Jess, I'm kidding. She's upstairs. Come on in. I'll go get her."

He nodded and followed her inside. "Thanks."

She ran up the stairs calling her daughter's name until she saw her at the end of the hall. "Hey."

"So?"

"He's totally nervous. He thought you didn't tell me about the date."

"Why would he think that?"

"Cause I pretended I didn't know about the date."

"Mom."

"Hey, I gotta torture him a little. We need to ease into the whole not completely despising each other thing."

"Oh yea. Reputations. I forgot. Can I go downstairs now?"

"Give it another minute." Rory shot her a look so she relented. "Fine. Go date. I'll be here…all alone."

"Until Luke gets here."

"Yes, then we're gonna-"

Rory clapped a hand over her mother's mouth. "Don't say it. I'm gonna take my hand away and you're not gonna say anything. Okay?" Lorelai nodded so she pulled her hand back. "Now I'm gonna go downstairs and you will not yell anything dirty. Understand?" Another nod. "Good. Now say bye to your favorite daughter."

"Okay. Send her up before you leave."

"You're so funny."

Lorelai smiled and kissed Rory's forehead. "Bye, kid. Have fun. Love you. And I don't want any late night calls from the hospital."

"What if there's a furry thing?"

"Kill it."

"You're cruel."

"I know. Now get downstairs. Your date's waiting."

She hugged her mother quickly before running down the stairs. "Bye Mom."

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Jess stopped his car in front of a pizza place in Hartford and turned to Rory. "Is this okay? Pizza?"

"Are you seriously asking me if pizza's okay? You do remember me right? Rory? Rory Gilmore? Daughter of Lorelai Gilmore? Ringing any bells?"

"So pizza it is." He got out of the car and waited for her to follow. "Don't know what I was thinking."

"Momentary insanity." She decided, as she walked over to him.

He reached out and took her hand in his. "That must be it." He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand.

She stepped in front of him and smiled. "I'm glad we're here."

"At the pizza place?"

"No. I'm being sappy. Just go with it."

"Sorry." He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. "Me too. I missed you."

She smiled and pulled him towards the restaurant. "I kinda figured." She teased.

"Oh yea?"

"Well, you came to my grandparents wedding and I doubt it was for the nice atmosphere. Or because you were invited." She opened the door and they walked inside, both smiling.

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"No."

"No?" She narrowed her eyes. "You can't say no."

"Why not?" Jess asked as he took a sip of Rory's milkshake.

"Because you said you didn't want to be Lorelai and that you weren't helping. That means you can't say no."

"You're just doing this because you know I can't stand her."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"_The Uncharted Forest_? That's from an Ayn Rand book. That woman is insane."

"Cause when you think Ernest Hemingway you think normal. You said I could name it and that is what I'm naming it. So there." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oh, very mature. Isn't Yale supposed to make you grow up? You know, prepare you for the real world." He teased.

"Nothing can erase eighteen years with Lorelai Gilmore. For example, right now I really need some coffee." She nodded. "It's a fate I've accepted."

"Well, I just happen to have a thermos full of Luke's coffee in the car."

Rory smiled. "I knew there was a reason I liked you."

"Oh, I see how it is. I'm just your supplier."

"Damn. I was hoping you wouldn't figure it out."

"Hmm." He said as he stood up. "I was gonna let you have that coffee, but now…"

"Jess." She whined.

"Rory." He said in the same tone.

She got up and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Please. I promise I don't like you just for your coffee." She pouted.

He smiled and was about to kiss her forehead but suddenly she jumped back. "What?"

She held up his keys and waved them in front of her. "Ha."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Now who's the cheater?"

"That would be me."

"Fine. Go have your coffee. I need to go pay for your food."

"Okay" She leaned forward and kissed him, making sure to hold the keys where he couldn't reach them. "I'll meet you in the car."

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Lorelai was sitting on the front steps of her house bored out of her mind. Luke had called fifteen minutes after Rory and Jess left to tell her that a big group of tourists just walked in for dinner and that he would be late. He'd apologized profusely, but she told him it was okay, that she'd find something to do, but after ten minutes of watching television she got bored and wandered onto the porch.

"Hey, sugar." Babette said as she walked over, about an hour later.

Lorelai looked up from her beer and smiled. "Hey Babette." She moved over so she could sit down. "What's up?"

"Me and Morey saw ya sittin' all alone out here. You okay, sugar?"

"Yea. I'm just bored. Rory's out with Jess. And Luke has to work late."

"What else is botherin' you?"

"I…I'm an awful person." She put her head in her hands and sighed. "I don't know what Luke sees in me."

"Oh, baby. What are you talkin' about?"

She looked up at Babette. "We were talking about Rachel earlier today…me and Luke…and he said she left because she knew he had feelings for me. And I was just thinking that…I knew too. But then I got engaged and practically paraded it in front of him. And there was Christopher, and Alex, and Jason. Oh, and we can't forget about that guy from my business class. And through all of that, no matter how much I hurt him, Luke was there for me and Rory. God, I hurt him so much, but if we needed him, he was there. Remember when Rory had the chicken pox and for a week she would only eat mashed potatoes? He brought them over every day. Middle of the lunch rush, he stopped what he was doing and walked the potatoes over. And when I got engaged, he built me a chuppah. It must have killed him, but he just wanted me to be happy. And he taught me how to fish, and he helped me and Rory move her stuff into her dorm, and that stupid mattress, and he invested in the inn when I ran out of money, and he fixed our porch and our roof…and what have I ever done for him?"

"Sugar, you really don't know?" Babette smiled at her. "You woke him up."

"What?"

"Luke was really close to his dad, ya know. So it was really hard on him when he got sick. And after he died, Luke kinda shut down. Liz and Rachel were both gone, and he had to deal with all of it by him self. Poor kid was too young to deal with that on his own."

"Babette." Lorelai said, trying to get her back to the point.

"Sorry, sugar. So, Luke stopped living when Will died. He went on auto pilot. He got up, did what he had to at the diner, then went to bed. He was grumpy all the time. He didn't smile, he barely even talked to his customers. But then one day this girl showed up, and I don't know what she said to him, but when she left he went to the window and watched her until she was out of sight. And the whole time he watched her, he had a huge smile on his face. For a while, the only time he smiled was when you came in, and then Rory could do it too. And all of a sudden he was smiling and laughing again and he was going to town meetings and yellin' at Taylor and he was just happy. And it was because of you. I don't know how you did it, baby, but you gave him a reason to live again."

"Wow." She wiped tears from her eyes and breathed out. "I told Rory that he was the one."

Before Babette could reply, Luke's truck pulled up in the driveway, and he got out. "Hey." He greeted them.

Lorelai smiled at him and Babette stood up. "I need to get home. Morey's gonna play for me."

"Night Babette." Luke called as she started across the yard.

Lorelai looked at her then at Luke. "I'll be right back." She ran towards Babette and stopped her before she got to her house. "Do you think we could keep all that between us for now? I don't want Luke to hear what I said from someone else."

As much as she loved to gossip, Babette knew where to draw the line, so she nodded. "Of course. I'll see you tomorrow sugar."

Lorelai hugged her and smiled. "Good night." She said before walking back to Luke.

"What was all that about?" He asked as he walked up the front steps.

She shrugged and followed him into the house. "Babette thought she'd keep me company while I was waiting for you."

When they got to the living room he nodded and turned towards her. "You hungry?"

She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Uh-uh. I already ate."

"Thank God." He backed up until he felt the couch behind him then let himself fall backwards, taking Lorelai with him.

"Tired, baby?" She asked as she ran her fingers over his face.

"Mmmm." His eyes drifted shut and he mumbled something about hating tourists.

Lorelai laid her head on his chest then reached down to lace her fingers with his. "I told Babette all the things you did for me and Rory, like with the mashed potatoes and the chuppah and the Yale mattress." She saw a faint smile cross his face when she mentioned the mattress and brushed her lips against his before continuing. "And I was wondering, what do you get out of this?"

His eyes shot open and he sat up a little. "Lorelai…"

"I mean, you're amazing for putting up with me and all my baggage, but why would you ever want to be with me?"

He tangled his hand in her hair and rubbed her cheek with his thumb. "Where is this coming from?"

She tore her eyes from his and ran her hand down his chest. "I don't know. I've just been thinking about it since…"

"Since we broke up. Lorelai, I thought we got past this."

"So did I. But since this morning when you said that Rachel knew how you felt about me almost five years ago, I've been wondering why you would ever want me. I'm horrible. I ignored every sign you gave me for eight-"

He pulled her head down and crushed his lips against her. "Lorelai, baby." He whispered. "Don't do this to yourself. You are an extraordinary woman and an incredible mother, and I don't know what I would do without you in my life. I was a wreck after we broke up. And I know you were just kidding when you said I was lost without you, but I really was." He reached up and brushed a few stray tears off her cheeks. "You saw the CD."

She rested her forehead on his chest for a second then looked up and beamed at him. "Thank you"

"Every word of that was true."

"You called me baby."

"I know."

"And what are the odds of you calling me that in public?"

"Don't push it." He put his hands on her hips then slid them around to her back where he started tracing circles with his fingertips.

She reached up to turn the light off then laid back down on his chest. "Mmm, tired."

"Go to sleep, baby." He said deliberately.

She let out a soft giggle. "Night, Luke."

He continued moving his fingers and kissed the top of her head. "Goodnight."

"Oh, by the way, I told Rory that we were gonna have sex before her and Jess got home, so we're gonna need to do that later."

"Okay."

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"Rory!" Lane yelled when she saw her and Jess walk into the club they were playing.

"Lane!" She ran over to the stage, pulling Jess behind her.

"Hey." Lane leaned down to hug her best friend. "I didn't know you were coming."

"Well, it was actually Jess's idea, but I haven't been to one of your shows in forever so…"

She looked over at Jess then back at Rory. "Oh my God. Are you on a date?"

Rory didn't get a chance to answer, as Zach ran over and grabbed Lane's arm. "Where the hell is Brian? We have to go on in twenty minutes."

Umm, I think he's outside, waiting for his parents."

"Hi Zach." Rory called. "How are you doing?"

"Are you enjoying this? Do you think this is funny? Twenty minutes." With that, he stormed off to find Brian.

"He seems a little stressed." Rory commented.

Lane shrugged. "He gets like this before shows. Being late because your bassist is waiting for his parents is not rock and roll. Now if we were late because our bassist was scoring in the bathroom, which we have all given up on, that would be rock and roll."

"Huh. I'll have to get Zach to explain all that to me sometime."

"Oh, yea. It's potentially very interesting. Probably not logical, but interesting."

She nodded. "Sounds very rock and roll."

"And very Zach."

"What's the difference?"

Zach walked onto the stage again dragging Brian with him. "I don't care if they told you to wait outside. Your parents know what a door looks like. They can figure it out." He looked at Lane. "Sixteen minutes. Go set up." And then he was gone again.

Lane looked back and Rory and shook her head. "I really don't see one."

"You better go set up before Zach gives himself a stroke."

"Yea, I'll see you guys after the show." She waved then went over to her drums, stopping to pat Brian's shoulder on the way by.

Rory watched Zach run across the stage again then turned back to Jess. "You're very quiet."

"Didn't want to intrude on…whatever the hell that was. I don't remember Zach being so…"

"Kirk." She supplied.

"Yes. I don't remember him being so Kirk-ish."

She grinned and leaned against the wall behind her. "I've heard that Kirkism is contagious. It's supposedly really bad in the Pacific."

"Yea, Jerry Lewis had a telethon for that the other night."

She nodded and poked him in the chest. "I like you."

"I've heard rumors. In fact, I heard that you might want to go again on Saturday."

"Aren't we getting ahead of ourselves? This date isn't even over yet. I mean, for all I know you could hate Almost Famous, or be an awful kisser."

He leaned down to kiss her but she stopped him before his lips reached hers. "Uh-uh. You don't get to kiss me until the end of the date."

He sighed and leaned his head against hers. "You know I already kissed you."

"That was pre-date. It doesn't count."

"You are impossible."

She grinned. "But that's why you love me."

He wrapped his arms loosely around her waist and kissed her temple. "Mmm-hmm." Knowing it wasn't the time or place to get into that, he pulled back and grabbed her hand. "C'mon. I'll buy you a drink."

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After the show ended, Rory and Jess talked to the band for ten minutes about how great the concert was, then said there goodbyes and left. Of course, not before Lane had convinced them both to buy a Hep Alien shirt.

Rory looked at the t-shirt as they headed back towards Stars Hollow. "Ya know," She said to Jess. "I have about twenty more of these in my closet."

"You should give them to people at Yale. I'm sure the band would appreciate the publicity."

"I just…she's my best friend. I have to support them. So now I have collection of shirts, most of which aren't even my size."

He glanced at her for a second then looked back at the road and laughed. "There are less expensive ways to support the band."

"Yea." She smiled. "It is kinda stupid." She yawned and leaned her head on Jess's shoulder. "Mmm. What time is it?"

"About one-thirty. We should be back home by two."

"Okay." She reached down to intertwine their fingers. "Wake me up when we get there."

He waited until he was sure she was asleep before lifting her hand to his lips. "I love you, Rory."

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A/N: I would like to thank Krista for suggesting the name _The Uncharted Forest_.


	12. A Small Plot of Land

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

A/N: I'm putting more time between 'Pulp Friction' and 'To Live and Let Diorama' than there was on the show.

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Lorelai slid onto her stool at the diner and frowned at Luke. "Hi."

"Hey." He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "What's wrong?"

"I miss my baby."

"She was just here on the weekend."

"I know. But she was with Jess the whole time. We haven't spent any time together since she had spring break. That was like a month ago. And now she's in Hartford, working on some newspaper thing with Paris and Doyle. I miss her." She looked around the diner then back at Luke. "We should paint." She said decisively.

He didn't even blink at her sudden change in subject. "It's only been four years. Find something else to paint."

"But we never got to paint together."

"We're not painting the diner."

"Why not?"

"Because it would make Taylor too happy. And I'd have to buy more paint and I'd have close for a day. So no."

"I wanna paint." She pouted

"No."

"Fine." She stuck her tongue out at him. "But you have to say I did a great job last time." She looked around again, surveying her handiwork, when her eyes landed on something that wasn't there before. "What is that?"

"What?"

She pointed. "That. Next to the pork chop."

He looked over at it and smiled. "Jess's diploma."

"He let you hang it up?" She asked incredulously.

"No."

"Right."

"But speaking of Jess, guess where he is."

"Off having sex with my daughter?"

"Jeez Lorelai."

"Sorry. So where is he?"

"New Haven."

"Why? Do you know what's in New Haven? Nothing."

"How 'bout Rory."

"Oh yea."

"Well, do you want to know what he's doing there?"

"Having sex with-"

"Would you stop. Rory's not even in New Haven."

"Fine. What is Jess doing in New Haven?"

"He's apartment hunting."

"He's…wow. So I guess him and Rory are pretty serious now. Well, they have never been not serious, but I didn't know they were 'move to New Haven' serious. This is big."

"I know. But you can't tell Rory. It's a surprise."

She made a zipping motion across her mouth. "Not a word."

He smiled at her then turned around when the phone rang. "Luke's." He answered. "Okay…I'll be right there." He hung the phone up and looked back at Lorelai. "I have to go. Can you get your own coffee?"

"I can go behind the counter?"

"Just this once." He kissed her quickly. "Can you tell Caesar I'll be back in a few hours?"

"Sure. I'll see you tonight."

"Sounds good." He kissed her one more time. "Bye"

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Luke pulled his truck over when he saw Jess standing in front of a large building. "Hey." He said, walking over to his nephew. "What are you doing? I thought you were looking for an apartment."

"I want it." He said, not taking his eyes off the building.

"What?"

He looked over at Luke. "I want this building."

"Why?"

"I saw it after Liz's wedding, and I just wanted it."

"What were you doing in New Haven after Liz's wedding?"

"Luke."

"Never mind. I know the answer to that. Are you asking me for money?"

"I don't know what else to do. You know I would never-"

"Jess. I'll give you the money."

"Really?"

"Of course. Did you talk to the owners yet?"

"Yea."

"Well, let's go back to the diner and you can call back them and set up an appointment or something."

"Okay." He was about to walk to his car, but he stopped when he saw Luke looking at him funny. "What?"

"Where are you gonna live?"

He pointed at the building. "There's two floors. I'll live upstairs until I can pay you back and get my own place. And it has separate rooms…with doors. Which is more than I can say for some apartments."

"Lorelai'll be happy." He said, ignoring his nephew. "She was begging me to let her paint earlier."

"She _begged_ you to let her paint?"

"Lorelai has strange passions."

"Well, she is dating you."

"You really can't help yourself, can you?"

"It's a medical condition."

Luke shoved him a little. "Get in your car."

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Luke was sitting across from Lorelai at one of the tables in the diner. Not something that happened often, but she pouted until he agreed to eat dinner with her after he closed for the night. They had finished eating, and were now watching Jess, who was on the phone with the people he was buying the building from. "This is like the third night in a row that he's talked to them." Lorelai said quietly.

"He wants to get this done as soon as possible."

They turned their attention back to Jess when he hung the phone up and looked at them with a huge smile on his face.

"Oh my God." Lorelai picked up her cell phone and brought it to her ear, pretending to talk to some one. "Hello…what…no…it's not possible." She gasped. "Blizzards in hell? It's unheard of…"

"You're not funny." Jess told her as he sat next to Luke.

"Really?" She asked. "Because I was thinking of going on the road with it." She grinned. "As much as I would love to sit here and talk about me, you need to explain the creepy smile."

"It's all finished. The paperwork."

"So we're sitting here looking at the proud new owner of a big empty building in New Haven?" Lorelai asked.

"Yep."

"Very nice."

Luke nodded. "Yea, congratulations."

A disturbed look spread across his face which made Luke and Lorelai both turn around to see what he was looking at.

"Ah, Jeez." Luke said when he saw Taylor in his store dancing with the cardboard cutout of himself. "I hate that window."

"Well, what if I was over there naked. Then how much would you hate that window?" Lorelai asked him.

"Okay, one, why the hell would you be naked in Taylor's store? And two, I really don't want to talk about this in front of my nephew."

They all looked up when the door opened and Rory walked in. She didn't say a word as she walked over and collapsed onto the last empty chair at the table and dropped her head onto the table.

"So how was Friday Night Dinner?" Lorelai asked with a smirk.

She didn't bother to lift her head as she pointed at Jess. "You're coming with me next week."

"I'm what?"

She sat up and looked at him. "You're coming to Friday Night Dinner next week."

"No I'm not."

"You told her about you and Jess?" Lorelai shook her head. "Bad move, kid."

"I didn't tell her. She just knew."

She gasped. "Maybe she's working with Taylor."

Luke looked over at her, confused. "What?"

"Taylor bugged our house." She said flippantly, before turning back to her daughter. "Did you at least try to get him out of it?"

"Of course I did. I do like him." She sighed. "She wouldn't give up. I didn't know what to do."

"You should have said he was dead or something."

"Are you trying to protect Jess?" Luke asked, smirking at her.

Her jaw dropped. "What? No. I just think subjecting anyone to my mother is cruel. It has nothing to do with Jess."

"He has met Grandma before." Rory told her.

"And I heard that went very well."

"It was a bad day."

"And Emily was there."

"She was fine."

"She hated him the since first time she heard his name."

While the Gilmore girls continued to talk, Jess looked over at Luke. "They're really slacking. She didn't even try to make it sound like I have a choice."

He shrugged. "They can't be in their element all the time."

"I'm sure Lorelai would disagree."

"What?" Lorelai asked, tearing her attention form her daughter.

"Huh?" Luke said.

"I heard my name. I'm assuming it was in a 'let's get Lorelai some coffee' kind of sentence." She nodded.

"Actually it was." Luke agreed. "But I remember the word decaf being in there somewhere."

She gasped. "Blasphemy."

"Yea." Rory narrowed her eyes.

Lorelai stood up and grabbed her purse. "Come on, Rory. We want nothing to do with these mean, mean men."

"Okay." She jumped out of her seat and followed Lorelai out the door, making sure to say a quick goodbye to Jess before she left.

Luke and Jess sat there for a minute before Lorelai ran back inside and kissed Luke. "In case you're not here in the morning I need someone to give me coffee." She told Jess then ran out again.

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Lorelai was sitting on her couch watching some infomercial, wishing Rory hadn't gone to bed, when she heard a knock on the door. She turned the television off and went to open the door. "Jess?"

"Hey."

"It midnight."

"I know. The light was on, so…"

"Oh, well, Rory went to bed an hour ago."

He nodded. "Actually, I came to see you."

She narrowed her eyes. "Really?"

"Yea."

She walked onto the porch and pulled the door shut behind her. "What's up?"

"Luke said you have some paint leftover from the diner?"

"Yea." She said skeptically.

"Then do you wanna help me?"


	13. Boys Keep Swinging

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

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Luke woke up to the sound of someone yelling and banging on the door downstairs. "Ugh." He groaned. "What the hell is that?" He rolled out of bed and walked over to the window. "You have got to be kidding me." He opened the window and stuck his head outside. "What do you want Taylor?"

Taylor stopped banging on the door and looked up at Luke. "Send that delinquent nephew of yours down here right now!"

"It's four in the morning, Taylor. Just tell me what you want."

"I want to talk to that criminal that you keep bringing back to this town."

He sighed. "I'm coming downstairs." He yelled before closing the window and walking over to Jess's bed. "Hey!" He yelled, kicking the bed. "Jess."

"What?" He grumbled.

"What did you do?"

He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "What are you talking about? What time is it?"

"Taylor's here and he seems to think you did something."

"He's probably right."

"Jess."

"I'm sure you'll find out as soon as you get downstairs."

"Fine. But it better not be something illegal." He growled as he turned and left the apartment.

Jess grinned as he watched him walk away, then laid back down and went to sleep.

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Luke turned the lights on then unlocked the door and Taylor immediately pushed his way into the diner. "What's the problem, Taylor?" He asked as he closed the door.

"Look at this!" He pointed at the window between the diner and the soda shop, which was painted the same color as the walls. "Your good-for-nothing nephew did this."

"You woke me up at four in the morning because your window, a window that I hate, was painted?"

"Yes."

"And you think Jess did it?"

"Yes."

"And you think I care?"

"Yes. Luke, this is an outrage. That window was very beneficial to this community, and now no one in my shop will be able to see through it."

"Get out, Taylor."

"This is not the end of this. It will be brought up at the next town meeting." He said as he walked out the door.

"Great. Can't wait." Luke pushed the door closed and looked over at the window, a hint of a smile on his face.

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Lorelai stumbled tiredly down the stairs and to the front door. She pulled it open and saw Luke standing on her porch. "It is four-"

He stepped inside and wrapped his arms around her waist as he crushed his lips against hers. "Hi."

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm with you so far."

"Did you paint the window in the diner?"

"It was Jess's idea."

"I don't like waking up to the sound of Taylor's voice."

"Really? Cause I love it. Almost as much as my boyfriend waking me up at four in the morning fully dressed and with no coffee."

"Sorry. I ran out of there pretty fast. I didn't want to be there if Taylor came back."

She wordlessly took his hand and started pulling him inside.

"Lorelai. What are you doing?"

"Upstairs. Sleep."

"I have to get back to the diner."

"Uh-uh. Saturday. Caesar. Lane. C'mon." She waited for him to shut the door than dragged him the rest of the way to her room.

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Rory walked to her mother's room, wondering why she wasn't up and begging for coffee, since it was already ten o'clock. She stood at the door for a minute, and not hearing anything, eased the door open. A large smile spread across her face when she saw Luke and Lorelai curled up, asleep. She tiptoed back out then ran down the stairs. After writing a quick note, she grabbed her jacket and started out the door. "Oh my God!" She jumped when she ran into Kirk on their porch.

"Oh, Rory. Did I scare you?"

"Just a little, Kirk. What's up?"

"Is Luke here?"

"Yea. He's upstairs with Mom. Why?"

"Taylor told me to find him." He pulled an envelope out of his pocket. "He said I have to give him this or he'll banish Lulu from Stars Hollow."

"Oh. Well, he's sleeping right now, but I can take it. I promise I'll give it to Luke."

"No. I need to hand deliver it."

"Do you think you can hold on to it for a few more hours? I'm sure Taylor won't mind if you wait until Luke gets to the diner later."

"This paper has to be in Luke's hands before five, or Lulu is gone."

"Oh, Kirk. I promise Luke will be at the diner before five."

"What if he's not? What if he takes the day off and Taylor drives Lulu away? She's the only girl that ever liked me. And I love her. And I don't want to move back in with my mother."

"I'll talk to Taylor, Kirk. Don't worry about Lulu."

"Okay. But if he asks can you tell him I gave Luke the letter? Just in case?"

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Rory walked into the diner and glared when she saw Taylor sitting at one of the tables. "Taylor!"

He looked at her, as did every other person in there. "Yes, Miss Gilmore?" He put down the newspaper he was reading.

"What is wrong with you? You are an awful, awful person."

"Excuse me, young lady."

"You told Kirk you were going to _banish_ Lulu? Are you completely insane? You're gonna _BANISH_ her? You can't banish people. And why do you have to torture Kirk like that. It's mean, and awful and…mean!" She spun on her heal and marched out the door.

"Rory!"

She turned around when Jess yelled her name and smiled at him. "Hey."

He stopped in front of her and held out a cup of coffee. "Hey."

She took the cup from him and took a sip. "You ran all the way out here just to bring me coffee?"

He grabbed her around the waist and brushed his lips against hers. "Something like that."

"Well, thanks."

"No problem." He shrugged. "So what was all that about?"

"Taylor's mean."

"Yea, I think I heard that somewhere."

She blushed a little. "I made a pretty big scene, huh?"

"No, I don't think anyone noticed." He said sarcastically.

"I didn't mean to blow up at him. I've just been stressed since the wedding thing. I mean, things with you have been really great. And I'm really happy that Mom and Luke are back together. But I'm still pretty mad at my grandma. And I talked to my dad, but we're still pretty shaky. Then today, Kirk was just all upset that Taylor was really gonna banish Lulu. And I snapped."

"I have to say, the look on Taylor's face was totally worth your pain."

She slapped his shoulder playfully. "Really feeling the love."

"I try." He smirked and kissed her again. "I gotta get back to the diner. Did you eat?"

"Who do I live with?"

"So no." He took her hand and started towards the diner but she didn't move. "Ror?"

"Can you see if Taylor left?"

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Jess looked up from his book when he heard the door open. He raised his eyebrows at Luke who walked in carrying Lorelai in his arms. "I'm not even gonna ask."

Luke walked over to the stairs and put Lorelai down. "The shoes that go with that outfit are in the apartment. So rather than wear different shoes, she had me carry her here."

"But I look so cute in this outfit. And none of my other shoes go with it." She defended before running upstairs.

He walked behind the counter and picked up a rag. "So, where's Rory?"

"Upstairs. She went to get a book and never came back."

"You didn't check on her? What if something happened."

"Lorelai hasn't screamed yet, so I think we're okay."

"Jess."

"Yes I checked on her. She got comfortable and decided to read up there. I think she's avoiding Taylor."

"Why would she be avoiding Taylor?"

"She yelled at him earlier. And now she's embarrassed."

"Oh."

"Hey, I need to run to Gypsy's. You good here?"

"Yea. I'm fine. But you know, Rory's gonna be up there for a while with Lorelai, so…"

He held his hand out. "Give me the list."

"It's not much. We're just low on pastries and peanut butter and a few other things." He handed the list over. "Thanks."

"By the way, Kirk's looking for you. And Taylor might stop by a little later. Oh, and I think Miss Patty wanted to talk to you. Something about fire damage at the Independence Inn and your butt. I didn't want hear anymore than that. So have fun. I'll be back later."

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Jess put his basket of groceries on the check out counter at Doose's and smirked at the glare Taylor shot him. "How ya doin' Taylor?"

"Me? Oh, well I'm wonderful. I have no window." He said as he rang up the groceries.

"Shame. I'd talk to Lorelai about that."

"Fifty-six fourteen."

He paid, took his bags and walked out of the store…right into Dean.

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Jess stalked into the diner and dropped the bags onto the table. "Here."

Luke looked up and a grin spread across his face. "Swan?" He laughed, pointing to his nephew's eye which was rapidly turning black and blue.

"Heh." He glared. "No. Dean."

"Dean?"

"He was welcoming me home."

"You've been here for two months."

Rory and Lorelai walked down the stairs cutting off their conversation. "Coffee!" They both yelled dramatically.

Rory gasped when she saw Jess. "Oh my God." She ran over and grabbed his face in her hands, careful to avoid the bruise. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He turned away from her and started for the door. "I'm going out." He called to Luke.

"Uh-oh." Lorelai said as she watched him walk out.

Rory looked at the door for a minute before chasing after him. "Jess!" He didn't stop, so she ran up to him and grabbed his arm. "Jess. What's wrong? What happened? Talk to me."

"It's nothing. Okay?"

"No, it's not okay. You won't talk to me. This is what killed us last time."

"Well, maybe you forgot that this talking thing needs to go both ways."

"What are you talking about? What happened?"

"Dean happened." He pulled away from her.

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_"Great." He said under his breath._

_"What the hell are you doing here?" Dean growled._

_"Buying pastries." He held up one of the bags. "That okay with you?"_

_"They don't have pastries in New York? You have to come here, where you're not welcome?"_

_"You know, I haven't heard any complaints about my being here. In fact, everyone seems pretty happy about it. Especially Rory."_

_Dean was shocked for a second, but pushed it back. "Well, Rory's been pretty damn stupid recently."_

_Jess dropped his bags and swung at Dean, connecting with his mouth. "If you ever talk about her like that again-" He was cut off by Dean's fist hitting him in the eye._

_Dean wiped the blood off his lip and sneered. "She'll come running back to me. As soon as she remembers what a piece of shit you are she'll be back in my arms. Back in my bed."_

_Jess breathed in sharply, not knowing what to say, as Dean laughed at him and walked away._

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"You couldn't even tell me?" He asked, angrily.

"Jess. I'm sorry. I know I should have…I didn't know how to tell you. I wanted to. I did. But I couldn't. I tried to tell you so many times, but I just couldn't say it."

"No. After everything that happened with us, you couldn't even mention it? No, 'Hey, Jess, I slept with my ex-boyfriend. Can I have some coffee?' How many times did you tell me just to talk to you? And you can't even…I can't do this right now." He turned around and left.

Rory stood in the middle of the street, watching him walk away, as tears started to well up in her eyes.

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A/N: How mean am I? Sorry about that. But ya gotta do what ya gotta do. Don't hate me. Well, I guess you can if you want, it's a free country, but I would prefer if you didn't.


	14. The Last Thing You Should Do

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

A/N: I'm putting more time between 'Pulp Friction' and 'To Live and Let Diorama' than there was on the show.

A/N2: I finally hit the one hundred mark. And it only took me thirteen chapters. That's just a little bit sad. No, I am very happy. Thank you guys for reviewing. And so far only one flame or constructive criticism, hold the constructive. I would like to thank that person too because…well, because it's my author's note and I thank whoever I want.

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Lorelai stood in the doorway to Rory's room for a minute, watching her daughter sleep, before going to the living room and grabbing the phone. She dialed the number at the diner and waited for Luke to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Hey." She said softly.

"Hey. How is she?" He asked; his voice full of concern.

"She's sleeping." She sighed. "Did Jess ever come back?"

"No. I tried to call him earlier but there was no answer. I'm worried."

"I'm sure he's fine. He's probably just cooling off. Maybe he went to the bridge."

"No, I looked. He wasn't there."

"Well, maybe he went to his place."

"Yea, probably."

"He'll come back, Luke. He just needs some time. I mean, he just found out Rory slept with Dean and not from the person who should have told him. They broke up last time because Jess didn't talk to Rory and now she's doing the same thing to him. He needs some time to think."

"It freaks me out a little when you defend Jess."

"Yea. Me too. But he's a good kid, just a little hurt. Wow. That wasn't as painful as it used to be."

"You like him." He accused.

"I…I have to go. Bye Luke."

"Bye Lorelai." He laughed

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Jess was laying on the floor in his apartment trying not to think about Rory, when his cell phone rang. He moved his hand over the floor until he found it and brought it to his ear. "What?"

"Aren't we in a fun mood?"

"What do you want Lorelai?"

"I want you to come downstairs and unlock the door."

He got up and walked to the window. "Why are you here?"

She looked up at him and frowned. "Because you're upset and Rory's upset and I don't want you guys to break up over Dean. Well, I don't want you to break up at all, but especially not over something that ended months ago."

"It's not about her sleeping with Dean. It's about her not telling me she slept with Dean."

"Really?"

"Okay, it's a little about her sleeping with Dean, but she should have told me. Dean stood there and threw it in my face that she slept with him. And I just stood there like an idiot because my own girlfriend won't talk to me about her life."

"Jess. She was scared. It wasn't about not wanting to talk to you. But telling your boyfriend that you slept with your married ex isn't exactly an easy thing to do."

Jess leaned his head against the window. "I know."

"How 'bout you come back to Stars Hollow with me and you can talk to Rory."

"It's one o'clock in the morning."

"I really don't think she'd mind if you woke her up."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"I'll be down there in a minute."

"Okay." She smiled at him as she hung up her phone.

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Lorelai pulled into her driveway and looked over at Jess. "Alright, good luck. I'll be at Luke's if you need me. So…" She reached into her purse and pulled out a box of condoms.

"Oh God." Jess sighed.

"Just in case." She told him. "But I don't want any details."

"But I was planning a slumber party. I thought we could braid each other's hair and talk about our sex lives." He said sarcastically.

"You want to know how Luke is in bed?"

"Yea, I don't know if I can make it, actually."

"Are you sure? Because I have plenty of-"

"Bye Lorelai." He cut her off before jumping out of the car.

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Jess eased Rory's bedroom door open and smiled a little when he saw her asleep, clutching her pillow. He walked over and sat down on the bed next to her. "Hey." He said, as he ran his hand over her hair. "Rory."

"What?" She mumbled and opened her eyes. "Jess?" She sat up when she saw him.

"Hi."

"Hi. What are you doing here at…" She looked over at her clock. "…one-thirty?"

"I'm sorry for running off like that."

"I'm sorry too. I screwed up. I should have told you about Dean. I'm such a hypocrite. I mean I yelled at you for not talking to me last time we were together and now I'm keeping secrets from you. I'm so sorry."

He leaned forward and kissed her hard then leaned his forehead against hers. "I love you, Rory."

She smiled and put one arm around his neck while the other rested on his chest. "I love you, too."

They sat like that for a minute before Rory pulled back a little. "How long do you plan on staying in this room?"

"Huh?"

She picked up the condoms that were on his lap. "A whole box?"

He smiled and looked down, trying to hide the red that was spreading across his face. "Lorelai gave them to me."

"Oh my God. Are you blushing?"

"No."

She laughed as she slid her hand to the back of his head and pulled his lips down to hers. "You're totally blushing." She said, before kissing him again and pulling him down onto her bed.

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"This was supposed to be mine and Rory's weekend." Lorelai whined as she climbed into Luke's bed. "Why couldn't your nephew be a drama queen next week?"

He rolled over and looked at her. "Hey."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up. I was just talking to myself"

"What are you doing here?"

"I brought Jess to the house to talk to Rory, and I don't want to walk in on anything, so I came here."

"You found Jess?"

"Yea. About an hour ago. He was at his place."

Luke looked smiled at her. "You drove to New Haven in the middle of the night to find Jess?"

"Yep. And then I drove him to my house, gave him a box of condoms, and told him to go wake up Rory."

"Condoms?"

"Uh-huh."

"You gave him condoms? You gave my nephew, the boy who is dating your daughter, a box of condoms? Why would you do that?"

"Cause Rory doesn't have any in her room?"

"Oh My God. You know what, I need to go to sleep." He rolled over onto his back and closed his eyes.

Lorelai laid her head on his chest then frowned after a minute.

"Oh jeez." Luke groaned.

"Bad mental image?"

"Yep."

"Me too."

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Rory had her sheet wrapped tightly around her body as she lay on top of Jess, tracing her finger lightly over the bruise around his eye. "Does it hurt?"

"Not really." He watched her face as she went back to tracing the bruise, then closed his eyes. "It was a swan."

"What?"

He looked up at her. "The black eye, when I met you grandma. I got beaked by a swan."

Her eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

"You really think I'd make that up?"

She bit her lip to keep herself from smiling, but she couldn't help it as her face was soon buried in his bare chest, laughter shaking her body.

He smiled and kissed the top of her head as he rubbed his hands over her back. "I told you it was embarrassing."

"Oh my God." She laughed with tears in her eyes. "A swan?"

"I was walking by Larson's dock and it came out of nowhere and beaked me in the eye. It could have blinded me."

She kissed him softly. "Oh, poor baby."

"I'm never gonna live this down am I?"

"Definitely not after I tell my mom."

"Remember when it happened and you promised not to mock me or tell anyone else?"

"Well, if you had told me then, I…no I'd still mock you and tell everyone I know."

"You're so nice." He said sarcastically.

"I am very nice. So nice, in fact, that I called my grandmother and told her you couldn't come to Friday night dinner until the Friday after this one."

"You just didn't want me to have a black eye both times I went to your grandparents' house."

"It's for your own good."

He kissed her forehead. "Thank you."

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The next weekend Lorelai stayed in Luke's apartment so Rory and Jess could have some alone time and because she really did not want to listen to her daughter have sex.

"Hey." Luke said to Lorelai when he saw her come downstairs from the apartment.

She smiled as she walked around the counter and kissed him. "Morning."

"Coffee?" He didn't wait for her to reply before pouring her a cup.

"No argument?" She went around to the other side of the counter and sat on a stool.

"That stuff is gonna kill you."

She grinned and took a sip of her coffee. "Better."

"You want breakfast?"

"No, I gotta meet Sookie in fifteen minutes. We're going to say goodbye to Old Man Twickham."

"Is it that time of the year already?"

"Hey, it's been a good two years since the last time he was dying. And I heard Kirk's got souvenirs this year."

"Everyone in this town is insane."

"Yep." She finished her coffee and stood up. "I gotta go. We wanna get there early this time. The last time, it rained and we had to stand in line for two hours, so by the time we got to see him, we were drenched. It wasn't fun."

"As death should be."

"Well, if he's gonna die, he should check the weather first." She leaned across the counter and kissed him. "Alright. I'll see you later. Are you coming to the town meeting tonight?"

"Yea. I'll be there."

"Good. Oh and if you see Rory and Jess, tell them to come say goodbye to Old Man Twickham." She waited for him to say okay then nodded and ran out the door.

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Lorelai, Sookie, Rory, and Jess walked into the diner around six-thirty. Sookie was pushing Davey in his stroller and Lorelai, Rory, and Jess all had armfuls of souvenirs. "Ugh." Rory said to Lorelai as they dropped their piles of bats, balls, foam fingers, hats, and flags on one of the tables then sat down. "I can't believe you bought all this stuff. It's so tacky."

"It is not. This is my Old Man Twickham remembrance collection."

She held up a foam finger and looked pointedly at her mother. "You're horrible."

Luke walked over to the table and looked at all the souvenirs. "What's with all the crap?"

"It's my remembrance collection." Lorelai told him.

"Old Man Twickham died." Sookie explained.

"Really?" Luke asked.

"Yes." Jess said. "He's dead. After you sent us over there, we stood in line for three hours before these two showed up…" He gestured to Lorelai and Sookie. "…because Lorelai decided she wanted to have breakfast at Sookie's. Then they came and got in line with us, where we stood _behind Taylor _for another five hours, because by ten o'clock, which is when we got there, the line was so long it was on the other side of town."

"Thank God we got to see him, because that almost wasn't worth it." Lorelai said looking at Luke. "He was about to close shop for the day but we got in, told him good-bye and that we'd miss him, we left and then apparently he just closed his eyes. Muttered something about Lori Loughlin and that was that."

"I can't believe he's gone." Rory said sadly. "He's been dying my whole life."

"Hey is it seven yet?" Luke cut of the conversation.

"Uh…" Lorelai looked at her watch. "About twenty of. Why?"

"Well, there's a town meeting tonight, and you know, since you're back from Old Man Twickham's, I thought we could go."

"O-kay." She said unsurely.

"Great. I'll close up and we can head over."

"Luke, we have twenty minutes before it starts."

"Well, the place is dead. Might as well go help set up or something." He explained before going to the kitchen to clean up.

"What was all that?" Sookie said quietly.

"I don't know." Lorelai shook her head. "Maybe Taylor came in while we were buying souvenirs and slipped him something."

"Ooh. Maybe."

"This sucks. I've never even been on time to a town meeting. I have a reputation to uphold."

"I have to bring Davey home before the meeting, so I'll probably be late, if you want to come with me."

"No. I want to find out what's going on with Luke."

"Okay. Well, I'll see you guys later." She stood up and pushed Davey's stroller to the door

"Bye Sook." She waved as Sookie left then quickly turned to Rory and Jess. "We need to stall. No way am I helping Taylor set up."

"What do you want us to do?" Rory asked.

"I don't know…go tell him you had sex with Jess."

"Uh, no."

"Well, go order food or something. Do something. Ooh, ooh. Spill something. Break all the ketchup bottles."

"I am not breaking Luke's ketchup bottles just so you can be late to the town meeting."

"Please?" She begged.

"No!"

"C'mon."

"There is something seriously wrong with you."

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Lorelai sat in Miss Patty's, not really paying attention to Patty and Taylor discussing who in town should take Kirk in for the night. Every few seconds she glanced at Luke, who was listening intently, then looked over at Rory, Jess, and Sookie to see if they had any idea what was going on. After they shrugged, she gave up and crossed her arms across her chest. Taylor had moved on to Old Man Twickham's will, which they had apparently gone over the day before 'in case it needed to be brought up at the town meeting.' She frowned, knowing Taylor had to have some selfish reason for doing this, but her attention was quickly brought back to Luke when he spoke for the first time since they got there.

"What does that mean, to the town?" He asked.

Taylor seemed a little surprised to see Luke, even though he knew he was there. "He left the house to the Historical Society along with his ample collection of valuable memorabilia. His will stipulates that the house is to be converted into a museum."

"A museum?"

"Are you going to interrupt me the whole meeting?"

"I'm just asking."

"A Stars Hollow museum. We will display his personal historical artifacts for a period of two months. After two months, the house is to be disposed of at the discretion of the head of the Historical Society, he meaning me."

"Oh, goody." He mumbled.

"So now you're going to talk under your breath."

"I'm sorry."

Jess leaned forward and stared at his uncle. "What?"

Taylor ignored them and continued. "So, we're going to need strong volunteers to make this dream a reality. Now, anyone with appropriate skills, let's see a show of hands."

Jess was still staring at Luke, when he saw him, along with several others, raise their hands. He mumbled a few obscenities then sat back and raised his hand.

"Uh, you're really going to have to fill me in on the gag, here." Lorelai looked between the two of them.

Rory's jaw dropped and she looked at her mother. "What's happening?"

Taylor glared at Luke and Jess. "Don't come to these things just to mock our business."

"I'm not mocking anything, I'm volunteering." Luke said.

Jess nodded. "Yea."

Taylor narrowed his eyes. "Patty, take down the names of the legitimate volunteers, please. Now, whoever's actually going to show up, our day starts at seven sharp. To the rest, shame on you. Now, onto item number three. The budgetary concerns about the new snowplow."

Lorelai frowned at Luke. "I'm sorry; does Taylor have compromising pictures of you or something?"

"It's no joke."

"Why on earth are you volunteering for Taylor?"

"Well, um–"

"Luke."

"How well did you know Old Man Twickham?"

"Somewhat."

"Well, I knew him all my life. He was like another dad, in a way."

"Oh. Nice."

"And I didn't show up to say good-bye, and I'm feeling a little guilty about it, you know. He's a good guy. I just want to do right by him."

She smiled. "Well. You are a terrific fellow, Luke Danes."

He was about to reply, but Jess grabbed his arm and started pulling him towards the door. "Hey."

Once they were outside, Jess let him go and pointed back at the door. "What the hell was that? Why are we volunteering for Taylor?"

"Hey, I didn't make you volunteer."

"No, I did that so I could find out what the hell you're on."

"I didn't say goodbye. I feel guilty. So I'm helping out."

"Why are we doing this?"

"Jess."

"Why?"

"Because I want the house. You got your…building and I want this house."

"Okay."

"You know we have to go back in there."

"No."

"You do realize we're trying to get on Taylor's good side, right? And we can't do that if we leave before he brings up the whole window thing."

He sighed. "Fine. Let's go."


	15. The Width of a Circle

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

**A/N: Sorry this took so long to update. We were hit by Hurricane Wilma and we didn't have power since Monday, but I am happy to report that as of 8:15 tonight our power is back. And I can update. I would also like to apologize because after you waited all that time (Okay, it was only ten days but it sure as hell felt like a lot longer to me) for an update, I leave you with a serious lack of Rory/Jess and Luke/Lorelai interaction in this chapter.**

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Luke and Jess were standing on either side of Taylor, all in their bright orange shirts, while he held their hands tightly. "I'd like a moment with the two of you."

"Yeah, time to let go, there, Taylor!" Luke tried to pull his hand away, but Taylor held on.

"I want the straight skinny from you."

"Really, let go of my hand."

"Not until you tell me what you're doing."

"I'm really just trying to get my hand away from you."

Jess glared at Luke. "I hate you."

"Thanks."

"No, I really hate you. I have never hated anyone as much as I hate you right now."

Taylor ignored them. "Why are you here? Why did you volunteer?"

"Because I wanted to!" Luke yelled at him.

"Luke, you hated Old Man Twickham. I know that for a fact. You said despicable things about him your whole life!"

He shot Jess a 'you better go along with this' look before answering. "Well, okay. If you must know, Lorelai asked me."

"Lorelai?"

"That's right. You know, we've been through a bit of a rough patch–"

"Yes."

"Well, I want to make things right with her. Get off to a good new start. She really wants me to get involved with community things, so she asked me to get involved. So, I'm doing it for her."

"Well, I think that's very nice." He smiled then shot a glare at Jess. "What about you? Why are you here? Trying to cause trouble?"

"Hey, I'm just here because he is." He pointed at Luke with his free hand. "Because Rory thought I should help him out." He added when Taylor looked skeptical.

"So you two are here because Lorelai and Rory asked you to come?"

"Yes, Taylor." He ground out.

"Well, that's wonderful." He said happily. "It's nice of them to get you involved."

He looked pointedly at Luke. "Oh, yea. Very nice."

"Alright. Jess, why don't you go over by the stairs and help Gypsy organize Mr. Twickham's personal effects. And Luke, how about I make you my right-hand man? Stick by me! Be me when I'm not here! What do you say?"

Luke looked down at their hands than back up at Taylor. "Well, I'll need my right hand back for that, I think."

"Of course." He dropped both of their hands. "Okay. Good. I like this side of you two." He turned away from them and started talking to Kirk.

Jess glared at Luke as he wiped his hand on his jeans. "I really, really hate you."

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Lorelai and Rory walked - well, Lorelai walked and Rory hopped on one foot while trying to put her shoe on the other one - arm in arm towards the diner. "Please, Mom." Rory begged. "Just stop for a minute. I need to put my shoe on."

"Well, if you had been ready when it was time to leave…" She said, not slowing down.

Rory yanked her arm free and slipped her shoe on. "You woke me up five minutes before we left."

"Oh, it was at least seven." She waited for Rory to get her shoe on and straighten her skirt before continuing in the direction of the diner.

"Fine. Seven minutes. Four of which, you followed me around the house and whined because Caesar's cooking today and you want pancakes."

"You know he doesn't make them fluffy like Luke does."

"But that doesn't mean you have to take two thirds of the extremely short amount time you gave me to get ready to complain about it."

She stopped right in front of the diner and turned to her daughter. "Do you think if I went over to the Twickham house and told Luke I wanted pancakes-"

"Don't even think about it." She pushed past Lorelai and walked inside. "You can order something else."

They sat down at the table next to door and Lorelai continued to pout about her pancakes.

"Hey, guys." Lane said, walking towards them with two mugs and a coffee pot.

"Hey Lane." Rory smiled at her friend.

She raised her eyebrows as she looked at Rory. "Please tell me that's Jess's shirt."

She looked down at her chest then widened her eyes at her mother. "Why didn't you tell me I was wearing this?"

Lorelai smirked. "Because life is not nearly as much fun that way. And because there is nothing like watching you daughter walk around town with the F word written across her chest."

She glared. "I need to go find a different shirt." She shook her head and headed up the stairs.

"No." Lorelai called after her. "I want to see Taylor's face when he sees you in that." Not quite through embarrassing her daughter, she turned back to Lane and said very loudly, "So, did Rory tell you she slept with Jess?"

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"Did you tell Rory yet?" Luke asked Jess as they were setting up the diorama upstairs.

"Tell her what?"

"About your apartment building thing."

He climbed into the wagon and took a mannequin from Luke. "Not yet. I want to wait until it's painted and stuff."

"Don't you think she'll want to help?" He passed another mannequin to Jess.

He shrugged. "I guess I'll tell her in a couple days."

"And what are you planning to do with the place?"

"Books, music, a bar. It's ten minutes from Yale so I figure something that appeals to college students would be the best idea."

"This is gonna cost a lot of money, Jess. Money you don't have. Money I can't afford to give you."

"I know. I'll think of something. I'll probably have to get another job, so I don't know how much I can work for you."

"Don't worry about it. Do what you have to. And if worse comes to worst, I know for a fact that Taylor pays twenty bucks if you jump out of a plane."

"I think I'll pass on that one." He said, jumping out of the wagon.

"That's probably wise."

He nodded. "Hey, do you think Lorelai can take Friday off and go paint shopping with me?"

"You'd have to talk to her, but you really want Lorelai to pick out your paint?"

"As opposed to…Kirk or Taylor? I think I'll stick with Lorelai."

"Alright, but let me warn you…she has a painting song."

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Rory played with Lorelai's palm pilot as they drove to New York to go the record store Jess took Rory to. "…And Doyle calls her his girlfriend so she's been really happy. It's a little bit creepy." She went to the to-do list frowned. "Is something wrong at the inn?"

Lorelai looked at her for a second. "No. Why?"

"Cause 'call Tom for price estimates' is on your to-do list."

"That's for a friend. You know, since Tom did so much work for me, they asked if I could call him for them."

"Oh. What friend."

"Uh, just a guy. No one you know."

"You have friends that I don't know?"

"Oh, yea. Tons of friends. You don't know everyone I know."

Rory gasped. "Oh my God! Are you cheating on Luke?"

"No! I am not cheating on Luke. Jeez, Ror."

"Well, you say you're calling Tom to do work for some guy that I don't know. And you're being all cryptic with your 'call Tom' code."

"It's not a code! I need to call Tom."

"Then what's going on? Who needs construction work done?"

"Well…I'm not allowed to tell."

"Somebody asked you not to tell anyone that they need a contractor? What the hell are they building, a crack house?"

"Hey," She said, changing the subject. "You know what would be really great? Coffee. And directions."

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Luke ran back upstairs after Taylor had called him to his office to discuss the progress of the museum and a few things that still needed to be done. "Jess."

He was standing on a ladder, with a power drill, attaching a spotlight above the caveman diorama. "Yea?" He turned to Kirk, who was standing at the bottom of the ladder with a toolbox. "Hand me the Phillips head."

"Taylor needs me to go with him to pick up a cannonball. You good here?"

"Oh yea. Got Kirk. Got the Jebediahs. What more could a guy ask for?"

"Alright. Call if you need anything."

"Actually," Kirk chimed in. "We need five screws, two light bulbs, and a tuna melt."

"I'll send Kyle up with the screws and the light bulbs." He said to Jess before walking out.

"What about my tuna melt!" Kirk yelled after him.

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When Dean finished building a couple simple tables to display Mr. Twickham's possessions, Gypsy sent him upstairs to make sure the covered wagon and the kitchen table in the diorama were stable, as per Taylor's orders. He walked up the stairs adjusting the tool belt on his hips and went to the room the diorama was in. He glared when he saw Jess, but he was too caught up in the argument he was having with Kirk to notice Dean enter the room.

"No, Kirk!"

"Please…"

"You are not going up the ladder."

"But you put up all the lights. Why can't I put up this one?"

"Because I don't think Taylor would appreciate someone dying when a friggin spotlight falls on their head in the middle of his museum."

Kirk huffed and stepped to the side so Jess could climb up the ladder. "Fine."

"You're just worried that you'll be the one whose head gets crushed. Can I have the drill?"

"I dropped it out the window." Kirk told him.

"You what? How…you know what, I don't want to know. Just go get it."

"But, Dean had a drill. Can't you use his?"

He followed Kirk's line of vision and saw Dean looking at him. He really didn't want to ask Dean for a favor, but it was that or be alone with him while Kirk ran outside for the other drill. And knowing Kirk, that could take an hour. "Shit." He muttered then looked over at Dean. "Could I…please…use your drill, Dean?" He said, trying not to sound pained.

"You need to borrow my drill?"

"Yes."

"So, you, Jess Mariano, are asking me if you can borrow my drill?"

He clenched his teeth. "Yes."

"Well, I'm gonna get it back in the end so…" He said smugly, handing the drill to Kirk.

Kirk passed the drill to Jess, who was glaring at Dean's back. "Be careful. He seems to really like this drill."

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"Oh my God." Lorelai said happily as she and Rory sat on the couch looking through the records they bought. "That place is great. That guy was like Lane with a Y chromosome."

"I told you."

"And you didn't lie." She said appreciatively. "Kinda makes me wish I had a record player."

"We have a record player." Rory said, confused.

"Let me rephrase. Makes me wish I had a record player that still plays records."

Rory got up and ran to the record player. "Ahh! You broke our record player." She turned around and she gaped at her mother. "We just went out and bought a bunch of records that we can't even play?"

"Sorry?" She grimaced.

She shook her head. "I'll run over to Lane's. They have like three record players. I'm sure they'll let me borrow one." She grabbed her jacket and opened the door.

Lorelai jumped off the couch when she heard her daughter scream. "Rory?" She ran to the door and saw her holding her hand to her chest while Kirk stood next to her, his fist raised to knock on the door. "You okay, honey?"

"Kirk's here." She smiled tightly. "Like he seems to be every time I open the damn door." She added under her breath.

"I'll deal with this. You go see if Lane can help with our little record dilemma."

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Rory was sitting in Lane's room catching up with her best friend, when her phone started ringing. "Hello?" She answered.

"I understand that everyone loves me," Lorelai said. "But is staying at our house really that appealing?"

"Kirk's sleeping over?"

"Oh, it gets better."

"Really?"

"Paris is back. Doyle had to go somewhere for the weekend, and she was bored all alone at Yale because she finished the paper she had to write, so she came here."

Rory shrugged. "Maybe she heard Kirk was gonna be there."

"And…"

"And? There's an and?"

"You're boyfriend's here. I was thinking of inviting Luke over so we could have a big fun sleepover, but Jess is totally against it for some reason."

"Could it possibly be that you told him if you were at a slumber party you were gonna give him the details of his uncle's sex life."

Lorelai gasped. "He told you that?"

"No." She said slowly. "You told me that."

"Oh. Right."

"Just tell Jess…and Paris that I'll be over in a few minutes. Actually, tell Jess to come over here so he can carry the record player."

"Good idea. Use the boyfriend for manual labor. I like the way you think, kid."

"You taught me everything I know." She smiled. "I'll see you in a little while. Try not to let Paris kill Kirk."

"Bye, hon."

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A/N: I know there was some stuff out of the episode and a lot of you don't like that, but remember, this story is the same storyline as the show, but with Jess around…mostly. If you don't like it, then sorry. If you do like it, then yay. If you are indifferent to my use of stuff straight from the episode, then okay. Anyway, these next few chapters were written a while ago, before season five even ended, so I should be able to update more often because they just need to be typed.


	16. Modern Love

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

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After they paid Miss Patty, Lorelai, Rory, and Paris walked up to the front porch of the Twickham house, where Luke, Jess and Sookie were waiting. While Luke and Sookie were standing there smiling, Jess was sitting on the steps with his head in his hands, trying not to fall asleep. Rory smiled and gently hit the side of her foot against his shin. "Hey."

He looked up at her and leaned his head against the banister next to him. "Hi."

"You look good." She teased.

"I am so tired. I slept for like three hours last night."

"C'mon you big wimp. Luke got home the same time you did and he's all chipper and upbeat."

"That's because there's something wrong with Luke." He yawned. "Do you think Taylor would notice if I fell asleep in the back of the wagon?" He asked his uncle.

"What wagon?" Lorelai asked.

Luke was about to tell her she'd have to wait and see, but Kirk ran outside calling Jess's name.

"What, Kirk?" Jess asked.

"Taylor needs you to go upstairs and label the light switches."

He groaned. "Why don't you tell Taylor he wouldn't have this problem if we had used a rotating spotlight like I said."

"Jess…" Luke warned.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine." He grabbed Rory's hand, which she was holding out, and pulled himself to his feet. "I'll be there in a minute Kirk."

"The show starts in fifteen minutes." He said before going back inside.

Jess slid his hands to Rory's waist. "You wanna come help me label?"

"I can't. I told Lane I'd meet up with her."

"Okay." He gave her a long, slow kiss. "I'll see you later."

"Bye." She smiled.

Paris looked over at Lorelai, Luke, and Sookie after Jess went inside. "That was sickening."

"Yea, it was." Lorelai agreed as the other two nodded.

"I'm standing right here." Rory said.

"It's not you, honey." Lorelai told her. "It was Jess being sweet. Kinda makes us want to gag."

"You guys are awful." She shook her head before going off to find Lane.

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"Hey" Rory smiled and waved when she saw Lane walking towards her.

She frowned. "Hi."

"Are you okay?"

"Fine." She answered unconvincingly.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Paris walked over, carrying three cups of Miss Patty's punch. "You look like crap." She told Lane, handing her a cup.

"Paris…" Rory said, unsure as whether or not they should be doing this.

"Hey, we paid our three bucks. Drink up." She pushed one of the cups into Rory's hands.

"Miss Patty's leftover punch is used to remove tar from construction sites."

She shrugged. "Then let it remove the tar from our souls." She took a large sip.

Rory and Lane watched her for a second then followed suit, each gulping down the punch.

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After he labeled the light switches, Jess went downstairs and watched as Lorelai and Sookie look happily around the museum and scoffed. "Are you two insane?"

"Probably." Lorelai told him, keeping her eyes on the painting they were looking at.

"How can you be enjoying this museum? Not one thing in this place is historical."

"So?" She asked. "It's all possibly related to someone who could have been friends with a guy who might have been the cousin of the person who conceivably lived next door to the family of someone who there is a slight chance had a one night stand with the woman who maybe cleaned the windows at the house of a possibly historical person. That's important."

"And fun." Sookie added. "Very 'Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon."

"Yea. Who needs stuffy old museums where you can't touch anything when you can come here and look down a hole in the floor at a cannonball that has probably never been in a cannon." Jess said sarcastically.

"Way to get in the spirit." Lorelai said, turning back to the painting.

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Rory, Lane, and Paris had found a table and chairs and were sitting outside the Twickham house, surrounded by several empty cups. Rory lifted her cup to her lips and downed what was left in the cup before tossing it on the table with the others. "You know," She hiccupped, obviously drunk. "I don't remember why we're drinking."

Lane waved around the half full cup she had in her hand. "We are drowning our misery."

"What misery?" Paris slurred.

"Yea." Rory agreed. "I'm not miserable."

Lane shrugged. "Well, then we're drowning my misery."

She nodded. "Okay."

"I will drink to that, my friend." Paris finished off the punch she had and put her cup down. "You shouldn't let him do that to you."

"What?" Lane asked.

"Zach. You shouldn't let him be…a guy."

"You're right." She jumped up. "I've had it. He can't do this."

Rory squinted her eyes. "What are you doing?"

"I am getting to the bottom of this." She said decisively, before storming off.

Paris watched her walk away then looked over at Rory. "She walks funny." Before Rory could respond, Paris's cell phone rang and she jumped out of her chair. "What is that?"

"It's your cell phone, Paris."

"Oh." She gasped "Who do you think it is?"

"You should answer it."

"Ooh. I should." She pressed send and brought it to her ear. "Hello?" She said, trying her best not to sound drunk. "Doyle! Hi…Nnnooo. I don't know what you're talking about…Stars Hollow. I'm with Rory." She moved the phone away from her mouth and turned her attention to Rory. "I need to take this." She stood up and walked away, talking to Doyle again.

Rory frowned as she looked at her surroundings and noticed she was alone. "Huh."

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Luke, Jess, Lorelai, and Sookie were standing upstairs watching the diorama presentation. Lorelai and Sookie looked giddy as Taylor narrated. "Sanitation in wartime. No one likes to think about it, but in Stars Hollow that's all we thought about. A local manufacturer, Buff-Rite, was the sole supplier of all things pertaining to sanitation and hygiene for our boys in World War two. Remember their snappy theme song?" The light shines on two deliverymen carrying cardboard boxes labeled 'Buff-Rite' and a woman sings the theme song. "Walk light, smell right, head held high with Buff-Rite!"

"Oh my God." Lorelai said happily.

"I know." Sookie agreed. "This is great. Walk light, smell right…"

She grinned. "Rory really needs to see this."

"I'll go find her." Jess jumped at the chance to get out of there.

"Use protection." Lorelai yelled as he ran out of the room.

Luke looked at her like she was insane. "Jeez, Lorelai."

She shrugged. "If I don't make jokes, I freak out because my baby's having sex with Jess. It's how I cope."

He just rolled his eyes and went back to watching the presentation.

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Rory sat at the table alone, drinking the last cup of punch that they had, before getting up and heading towards the front door to find her mother. She stumbled onto the porch and leaned on the railing for a minute so she wouldn't fall over. She closed her eyes and pressed her hand against her forehead, trying to make the dizzy feeling go away. "Ugh." She looked up when the door opened and smiled. "Jess! Hi."

He narrowed his eyes and stepped closer to her. "Hey. Are you alright?"

"I am great." She poked him in the chest emphasizing each word.

He raised his eyebrows. "Are you drunk?"

"No." She waved it off. "I'm not drunk. Rory Gilmore does not get drunk." She tried to walk past him, but ended up stumbling into his chest. "Okay, maybe I'm a little drunk." She giggled.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and held her against him. "A little?" He reached his other hand into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

"What are you doing?" She asked as she lazily threw an arm around his neck.

He tried to hide his grin as he answered. "I'm calling Lorelai." He dialed her number and brought the phone to his ear.

"Lorelai…" Rory laughed. "That's a funny name."

He bit back a laugh as Lorelai answered the phone. "Hey. It's Jess."

"Jess. I thought you were coming back with Rory. Didn't you find her?"

"Oh, I found her." He said, looking down at Rory.

"Then, what's the problem?"

"Well, she's…really drunk."

"She's drunk! Oh my God. Uh, just hold on. I'll be down in a minute."

"You don't have to come running down here. I'll take her home."

"Are you sure?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yea. I just figured you'd want to know."

"Okay. But call me if you need anything."

"I will."

"Alright. I'll talk to you later, Jess." She hung up and turned to Luke, who was standing behind her. "So, Rory's drunk."

"What?" He asked, shocked.

"Yep. Patty's punch. Jess is taking her home."

"Wow. You'd expect that to be the other way around."

She smiled proudly. "My baby's all grown up and getting drunk at town events."

"And who doesn't want that for their kids?" He asked sarcastically.

"Uhh, crazy people." She said like he should know then grabbed his hand. "C'mon. I wanna see the rest of the diorama."

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After Lorelai left to go to the inn, Luke went outside and walked toward a table on the side of the house to pack up his toolbox. He turned around and clenched his teeth when Dean walked by, giving him attitude. "Okay, Dean. Come on. Give me that attitude. What's up? What is this, still about the Pippi night? The Bop-it? Or is it about Jess?" He shook his head. "Fine. You hate me, whatever. You want to punch me? Go ahead, I'm a terrible guy, I deserve it. Go ahead, take a shot. I won't even fight back. Make you feel better, huh, buddy?"

Dean glared. "Just go back to your girlfriend."

"Fine. Whatever."

"While you've got one." He muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What do you think it means?"

"I'm not playing games here!" He yelled, fed up.

"Your situation is no different from mine. Buddy."

"I've got work to do." He growled.

"Then go." She waited until Luke turned back to his tools to add, "They want more than this. Don't you see that? And all you are is this."

He spun back around. "Rory was a kid, Dean. She grew up. She moved on. Accept it."

"You accept it. This town, it's all you are, and it's not enough. She's going to get bored, and you can't take her anywhere. You're here forever."

"It's different."

"It's not different. You and me. Same thing."

Luke stared after him, looking hurt and upset, as he walked away.

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Jess held Rory's hair back with one hand and rubbed the other up and down her back as she knelt over the toilet. "Feel any better?" He asked softly.

"Ugh." She groaned. "I hate Lane and her misery."

He kissed her temple. "You wanna go to bed?"

"Mmm. Just let me brush my teeth." She went to push herself up, but dropped back down when the room started to spin. "You know, I kinda like it here."

He pulled her towards him slowly. "C'mere."

"Okay." She backed up and laid her head in his lap. "Jess?"

"Yea?"

"I don't like Miss Patty's punch."

He ran his hand over her hair. "Really? Cause you seemed to like it a lot a few hours ago."

"Yea." She said sleepily. "This floor is really dirty."

He smiled. "Yea, well, it is Lorelai's bathroom."

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Lorelai walked into the inn, where she found Tom sitting in the living room, waiting for her. "Hey, Tom."

He put down the paper he was reading. "Lorelai. You ready to go over these prices?"

"Yea. Let's go to my office."

"Alright." He stood up and followed her down the hall.

After Tom sat down, she closed her office door and went behind her desk. "Okay, so you looked the whole place over?"

"Yea, the place doesn't need much work. I don't even know why you called me. Luke could probably do all the work for free."

"But you're a professional. And you know how much we love you, Tom."

"Yea. So, you gonna have to replace the floor downstairs, get your water and electricity and all that stuff working, and you should probably get some new doors, but other than that, all you need is a couple coats of paint and some furniture."

"Really?"

"No, I'm lyin' to ya."

"This is so great, Tom. How fast do you think you could replace the floor?"

"We could get the old one up by next week, and it would take another week to replace it after we get the new stuff, but we have to talk to the owner…" He looked down at the printout he had. "…Jess Mariano, before we start work."

"Ahh, Tom if you weren't married…"

"The wife'll love that."

"Yea, so would Luke. So, let's talk prices."

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Lorelai walked into her house later that night. After she talked to Tom, Michel reminded her that she had agreed to take over for him for a 'few hours' so he could take his chows for a checkup at the vet, so she ended up not getting out of there until eleven o'clock. She yawned as she hung up her coat and walked into the living room. She immediately went into 'mother mode' when she saw Paris and Kirk in the living room. Paris was wrapped up in a blanket on the couch, clutching her cell phone tightly. Lorelai gently slipped the phone out of her hand and set it on the table before moving on to Kirk. He was laying on the floor in the fetal position on the other side of the coffee table. Lorelai grabbed a pillow and blanket out of the closet and went back over to Kirk. She lifted his head carefully and slid the pillow beneath it then draped the blanket over him before heading towards her daughter's room. She slowly eased the door open and saw Rory sleeping peacefully in her bed with Jess propped up against the headboard next to her, reading. He looked up when the door opened and saw Lorelai waving him into the kitchen. He nodded and slid out of bed, careful not to wake Rory.

"Hey." He whispered as he put his book down on the table. "You're just getting home?"

She sat in one of the chairs and yawned again. "Yea. Michel had to go to the vet so I ended staying late." She shrugged. "How's Rory?"

"She's fine. After I got her home, we went straight to the bathroom where she threw up a lot then fell asleep in my lap. She woke up a little while later and I brought her down here, gave her a couple aspirin and a bottle of water, and she's been asleep since then."

"When did Paris and Kirk get home?"

"Paris was passed out on the couch when we got here and Kirk came back around eight. Did you know he deals Blackjack in his sleep?"

"Yea. There's Roulette too."

"Huh."

She shrugged then stood up. "Well, if you can live without me, I'm gonna head over to Luke's."

He nodded. "Alright." He said, also standing up. "Then, I'll just…" He gestured to Rory's room.

"Okay. See you later, Jess." She smiled at him and walked back towards the door.

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Lorelai walked into the diner, surprised to find the door unlocked considering how late it was.

"We're closed." Luke yelled from upstairs.

"Hey, it's me." She called up to him.

He ran down the stairs. "We're closed." He repeated, looking at her.

"Luke?" She noticed the suitcase that was sitting on the counter. "What's going on?"

He picked up the suitcase and walked past her, out the door. He couldn't talk to her. This was already hard enough.

"Luke." She chased him outside. "Luke!" She grabbed his arm and turned him to face her. It had been dark in the diner, but now, under the streetlamp, she could see his eyes were red and a little puffy. "What is this? Are you leaving?"

"Lorelai, please don't do this." He begged. "You weren't supposed to be here."

She let go of his arm. "So you weren't even gonna tell me? Were you just gonna have Jess mention it when I stopped by in the morning? 'Oh, sorry Lorelai. He's not here. He skipped town last night. Didn't he tell you?' Oh, wait. He's probably going with you. Because that would be so Jess of him."

"Don't take this out on Jess. He doesn't even know I'm leaving."

Lorelai didn't even bother trying to hide the tears running down her cheeks. "Why are you doing this?"

He threw the suitcase into the back of his truck. "Because I can't be here when you realize I'm not enough."

"What are you talking about?"

"You want more than this. And this is all I am. This town is all I'll ever be. And I can't be here when you realize you want more. That you deserve more. I can't stay here."

"God damn it, Luke!" She was mad. _When did he get so stupid _"I had it all. For sixteen years, I had everything a girl could want, and I ran away from that. Because it wasn't what _I _wanted. I wanted twenty-four hour dance marathons that I never win, and giant pizzas, and night terrors, and sleepovers in a zucchini patch. I wanted a home. I wanted this. This past year is the happiest I've been my entire life. C'mere." She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the diner. "Eight years ago a girl with a serious coffee addiction walked through that door. The grumpy owner of the diner was pretty busy, but she walked right over and started begging for coffee. Being the mean, grumpy guy that he was, he told her to wait her turn. So she starts following him around and talking about lots of fascinating things. After a while he turned around and told her she was annoying and that she needed to sit down and shut up and that he get to her when he gets to her. I told you he was grumpy. Anyway, the beautiful, intelligent customer still hadn't gotten her coffee, so she asked the coffee man when his birthday was. He didn't want to tell her so she talked about other things until he said when it was. Then she got the newspaper and opened it to the horoscope page. She wrote something down, ripped it out, and handed it to him. He looked at the paper, and under Scorpio it said 'You will meet an annoying woman. Give her coffee and she'll go away.' So he gave her coffee."

"And she came back and begged him for coffee everyday since then." Luke finished.

"Yea." Lorelai pulled him closer and wrapped her arms around his neck. "But do you know what's different now?"

"What?" He put his hands on her hips.

"She loves him too." She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his, then pulled back and smiled at him.

"How do you know he fell in love with her that day?"

She took his wallet out of his back pocket and pulled to horoscope out of it. "Eight years." She smiled at him. "Cause, you see, that day all those years ago, she told him to put that horoscope in his wallet, and that one day it would bring him luck. And he kept it. For eight years. And when he showed it to her a few months ago, she knew he was exactly what he was looking for when she ran away. He was home."

Luke smiled at her then looked down at his feet.

"Hey." She said softly.

When he looked up Lorelai saw he had a tear on his cheek. She wiped it away with her thumb then ran her fingers through his hair.

Luke's eyes drifted shut and Lorelai looked at him lovingly. "Luke." She whispered.

"Hmm?" He opened his eyes.

"Will you marry me?"


	17. New Angels of Promise

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

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"Rory! Rory, Rory, Rory, Rory, Rory!" Lorelai bounced on her daughter's bed.

"Ungh." She swatted at her mother. "Go away."

"C'mon. Get up. Up, up, up."

"Mom." She whined.

"Wake up." She whined back.

Rory groaned and reached out to snuggle back up to Jess only to find that he wasn't there. "Where's Jess?"

"I don't know. But his shoes are in the living room so I doubt he went far."

She nodded and pulled her blanket over her head and groaned again when Lorelai poked her in the ribs. "Go away. It's five in the morning."

She bounced a couple more times. "I know. Isn't it great? We should always get up this early. Why don't we get up this early?"

"Mom, I mean this in the nicest way possible, but I have a hangover and if you don't leave me alone, I will chop you into little pieces with a butter knife and feed you to the dog."

"We don't have a dog."

"Damn it. Are you sure? I could've sworn-"

"I'm getting married."

Rory bolted upright. "What?"

"I'm getting-"

"I heard what you said. I just…wow. You're getting married. You're marrying Luke...it is Luke, right?"

"Oh my God. No, Kirk." She said sarcastically.

"Jeez. I'm just making sure."

"Of course it's Luke. I'm marrying Luke. Oh my God, I'm marrying Luke." She jumped off the bed. "This is big. Really big. Like the biggest thing ever. Except for you. That was huge. But this is almost huge. This is right behind that. Thing need to be done. Big things. Like plans. And charts. I love charts. Lots of charts. And graphs. I don't know why, but we should have graphs. Ooh, and lists. You like lists and Luke likes lists. You two can make lists."

"Mom." Rory climbed out of bed.

"I'm getting married." She threw her arms around her daughter, and they jumped around in excitement. Suddenly Lorelai pulled back. "Oh, I didn't ask you how you felt about this. I'm so sorry."

"You ask me after we jump around? Mom, I think this is great. You love Luke. Luke loves you"

"What about you?"

"Well, hopefully not in the same way. You might want to clear that up with him before the wedding though."

"Rory."

"Mom. What else do you want me to say? I'm happy. I'm excited. I think it's great, wonderful, fantastic, marvelous. There is no one in the world I'd rather you married and there's no one in the world I'd rather have for a step dad."

Lorelai smiled through the tears that filled her eyes. "Not even Bono?"

"And not get to see you and Luke in matching flannel on Saturday mornings…"

She gasped. "Sookie. I have to tell Sookie."

"Mom! Five in the morning. Let the woman sleep."

"Yea, okay. She is pregnant. Plus Jackson might kill me with a rake."

"Hey, then I'd get to sleep late. Call her up."

"Hmph. Be nice to Mommy."

She kissed Lorelai on the cheek. "Congratulations. Can I go back to sleep?"

"Fine. If you must. I'll wake you up in a few hours. We're going to Luke's at eight."

"Kay. And if you see Jess…"

"I'll send him your way."

She nodded. "Night, Mom."

"Night, kid."

Rory tossed and turned for twenty minutes before giving up on falling back to sleep. "Luke does not like lists." She said as she walked into her mother's room and flopped onto the bed.

"What?"

"Before, you said Luke likes lists. Luke doesn't like lists."

"Oh. I know. It was just a heat of the moment thing."

"The heat of the moment made you say Luke likes lists?"

"Yep."

"Freak."

"So, couldn't get back to sleep, huh?"

"No. Thank you by the way."

Lorelai smiled. "Welcome."

"So, no Jess?" She sounded a little worried.

"Yea. I ran into him downstairs. He had to run to his-." She stopped when she remembered Rory didn't know about Jess's recent purchase. "-uh, his place of…living…where he stays…the apartment…above the diner."

Rory looked skeptical, but let it go. "You wanna give your sleep deprived daughter the details?" When Lorelai grinned, Rory held up her hand. "Leave out the dirty stuff."

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_"Luke." She whispered._

_"Hmm?" He opened his eyes._

_"Will you marry me?"_

_"I…" He didn't know what to say. Well, that's not entirely true. He knew exactly what to say, he was just too shocked to form the words._

_When he didn't say anything for a couple minutes, Lorelai started to pull back. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…it was stupid." She quickly swiped the tears that were making their way down her face, not wanting him to see her cry twice in one night._

_Her voice pulled Luke out of his shock. "Yes." He said quickly, before she could get away from him._

_"What?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Yes, it was stupid or-"_

_"Shut up, Lorelai." He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and kissed her passionately._

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Lorelai and Rory froze in the middle of the diner. "Oh my God." Lorelai said as she looked around. There were decorations everywhere.

"Mommy." Rory said overdramatically. "I don't understand."

Lorelai pulled her daughter into her arms. "Hide your eyes." Suddenly she gasped and pulled Rory closer. "It's worse than I thought."

"What is it?"

"Tablecloths."

"No!"

"Yes."

She pulled away from her mother to look at the tablecloths. "Why, Luke?"

"Maybe it's not Luke." Lorelai said hopefully. "Maybe he switched bodies with Taylor."

"Is it possible?"

"It has to be." She started for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Next door. I need to save Luke."

"Right. Hurry up. You know what happens after tablecloths."

Lorelai's eyes went wide. "Those big flowers that sing and dance every time you walk by."

"Yep."

"I love those."

"So does Taylor" She gasped.

"Ooh. He does." She made her way over to Luke, who had been standing behind the counter watching them since they walked into the diner, and kissed him. "Why, Mr. Doose." She swooned.

Luke shook his head but didn't even bother trying to hide the smile on his face. "You're crazy."

"And you love it."

Just then, Jess walked into the diner talking animatedly on his cell phone. "I know, Tom…no, you can't talk to Lorelai again…because you're talking to me…" He blinked a few times when he noticed the state the diner was in. "Yea, I'll call you back." He turned off the phone and looked around, confused. "Luke." He looked over at his uncle. "What the hell is this?"

Rory laughed as she grabbed his hand and started pulling him towards the door. "C'mon. I'll explain."

Lorelai watched Rory and Jess walk towards the gazebo for a minute then turned to Luke and smiled sweetly. "Coffee?"

"One condition. Come upstairs with me first."

"Ooh." She smirked "Dirty."

He sighed. "Not for that. I want to give you something."

"I think I'm gonna stick with the dirty."

"Would you just come on?" He took her hand and led her towards the stairs. "Caesar, I'll be right back!"

Lorelai giggled as he pushed her up the stairs. "What are you doing?"

He closed the apartment door behind them and pulled her close.

"Hi." She said quietly.

"Hi." Luke smiled at her. "I missed you."

"Really?" She looked over his shoulder at the clock. "I was only gone three hours and twenty-six minutes."

"I know."

"Hmm. I didn't know I was so miss-able."

He leaned down and kissed her. "I love you."

"Hey." She pulled back quickly. "I know what you're doing. You're trying to distract me so I forget all about my present.

"Oh. Come in here." He pulled her over to his bed "Sit down."

"Ooh, this is getting suspenseful."

Luke went to his safe and took something out of it then sat next to Lorelai. He handed her a small velvet box. "Umm, last night I forgot about the ring, so…"

She felt tears fill her eyes as she opened the box. "Oh my God." She looked over at him. "Luke. This is…" She threw her arms around his neck. "It's beautiful."

He pulled back so he could look at her. "You like it?"

"I love it. It's amazing."

"Good." He smiled as he took the box from her and took the ring out of it. "Give me your hand." He slid the ring onto her finger "Now it's official."

"Not yet." She told him.

"No?"

"Uh-uh. I didn't give you your ring yet."

"You got me a ring?"

"Yep." She pulled an orange plastic ring out of her purse and put it on his finger. "Now it's officially official."

"I Love Lorelai." He read what she had written on the ring.

"You like?"

"I do."

"Hey mister, save it for the wedding."

"Sorry." He looked down at his ring. "I don't actually have to wear this do I?"

"Uh, yea you do."

"You've got to be kidding me. Why?"

"Cause it says 'I Love Lorelai' on it." She said like he should know.

"Lorelai, I still love you without the ring on."

"Yes, but it's so other people know you love me."

"Who is it that you think doesn't know? There are no secrets in this town."

"I know that."

"Then the ring is for whose benefit?"

She sighed, exasperated. "Well, say we're in Hartford and-"

"Why are we in Hartford?"

"And we go to the mall-"

"I'm not going to the mall. I hate malls."

"And we get separated-"

"If you manage to get me to the mall, there's no way either of us is wandering off without-"

"Luke!"

"What?"

"I'm just trying to make a point. Jeez, Rory didn't whine as much when I had her dating a Hanson brother."

"Fine We're in Hartford, at the mall and we somehow got separated."

"Thank you. Now, while we're separated, I, of course, am trying to find you. I'm all over the place yelling Marco and-"

"Marco?"

"As in Marco Polo. Keep up, babe."

He nodded. "Right. Sorry. You're yelling Marco and I'm…where?"

"Well, you are trying to find me but you don't know where to go because you've never been to the mall before. Then suddenly some woman sees you walking all alone, so she walks over and starts flirting and asks you to dinner, but who could blame her 'cause you're pretty damn hot." She smiled when he blushed. "Anyway, you can show her the ring and say 'Hey, I don't think so. I love Lorelai. Check out the ring."

"Okay, but when I am lost in this mall in Hartford and this extremely forward woman asks me out, why can't I just tell her I'm engaged or just say no?"

"Uh, well, umm…my idea's more fun."

"How 'bout, if you don't make me wear the ring I promise I'll say Polo."

"Just one day?"

"One day?"

"The ring for one day and you say Polo."

"Deal."

She smiled. "Now that that's settled…" She climbed onto his lap and trailed kisses up his neck. "You wanna play hooky?"

"Mmmm." He moaned as his eyes drifted shut.

She grinned and started to unbutton his shirt. "I'm gonna take that as a yes."

His eyes opened as he grabbed her hands. "I can't."

"Why not?" She pouted.

"The diner."

"Caesar's down there"

"He has to leave in half an hour. He's got a thing to do today."

"What about-"

"Your daughter took Jess, and Lane's in New York for a gig."

Lorelai sighed. "Tomorrow?"

He nodded. "Tomorrow."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Kay." She re-buttoned his shirt and kissed him quickly before standing up. "Oh." She took her ring off. "Here."

"What are you doing?"

"If I go down there wearing it, everyone's gonna know and since you're stuck here all day you're gonna have to answer a billion questions. But if we tell them tomorrow we can spend the day away from Stars Hollow and the billion questions."

"Ah, right." He took both of their rings and put them back in the safe. "After the amount of time the ring was in that safe, one more day won't matter."

"How long was it in there?"

"A long time. It was my mom's. My dad gave it to me before he died. He said she wanted me to have it."

"Oh, Luke." She wrapped her arms around him. "I love you."

"I love you, too." He smiled and pulled away. "Hey how'd Rory take it? She didn't say anything."

"Yea, we didn't know if we were telling people, but judging from downstairs, it won't stay a secret for long."

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? Have you seen the place? There's tablecloths and flowers and spring decorations."

"So?"

"You never have decorations. Don't you think all that stuff is gonna raise some suspicions?"

"I guess I did go a little overboard."

"Ya think."

"I'll take it all down tonight."

"Good." She pulled him out of the apartment. "C'mon. You owe me coffee."

He followed her downstairs then went behind the counter. "You know, I think I should have some say in your eating habits now."

She sat next to the register. "Why?"

He waved the coffee pot around as he spoke. "Because when this stuff kills you, ya know who's paying for the funeral?" He pointed at himself. "Me."

"You have insane troll logic." She shook her head. "My funeral is all Emily's."

"I give up."

"You give up? This is my life we're taking about. Do you want me to die?"

"You want this to-go?"

She smiled. "Yes please."

Luke poured the coffee and handed it to her. "Here. Go kill yourself somewhere else."

"Thank you." She leaned across the counter and kissed him before heading for the door. "Oh." She turned around to look at him. "Do you think you can at least come home early so I can have my way with you?" She smirked when a dark blush spread across his face. "Bye." She said sweetly as she left the diner.

Luke looked around to see every customer staring at him. "Eat your damn food." He said then walked into the kitchen.

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"They're getting married?"

"Yup." Rory watched Jess pace back and forth in the gazebo.

"Like…married?"

"Yup." She didn't know why he was so thrown by this, but he was definitely not taking it very well.

"This is weird."

"Okay?"

"I can't believe Luke proposed."

"He didn't."

"Lorelai proposed?"

"Well, if Luke didn't do it…"

"Wow."

"Yea."

He slowly sat down next to her. "We're gonna be step-cousins."

"Ooh, that's weird."

"Yea." He stood up suddenly. "I have an idea."


	18. Things to Do

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

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"Hey, Taylor." Jess said as he and Rory walked into the Soda Shoppe.

"Ah, Rory." Other than while they were working on the Twickham house, Taylor had taken to ignoring Jess completely since the window incident. "How would you like some ice cream?"

She grinned. "Still not talking to Jess?"

"He painted my window."

"I painted our side." Jess said. "You can still see through your side."

"All I can see is paint."

"Well, that's what's on the other side."

"Uh, Taylor." Rory interrupted the argument. "Could you do us a favor?"

He looked over at Jess. "Take the paint of the window."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"No paint or no deal."

"Fine." He ground out, narrowing his eyes.

Taylor smiled happily and faced Rory. "What would you like me to do?"

"I need you to call an emergency town meeting but Luke and my mom can't know about it."

"Well, I can't really call a town meeting and not tell the whole town." He said hesitantly.

"You started that one meeting early and didn't tell me, Mom, Luke, or Jess."

"It's important, Taylor." Jess added.

"Oh, alright. I guess I can make an exception just this once. What is this about anyway?"

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Lorelai walked into the inn and immediately went to the front desk to bother Michel. "Guess what."

He didn't bother looking at her. "I do not care."

"Guess what."

"I still do not care."

"Guess what. Guess what. Guess what. Guess what."

Michel picked up a walkie-talkie from the desk. "Sookie." He said into it.

"Yes, Michel?" She answered

"Come get this crazy woman away from me."

She walked into the lobby a minute later and looked curiously at Michel. "What crazy woman?"

"I'm sorry. I did not realize you have gone blind."

"Lorelai?" She asked him.

"Very good."

"Guess what." Lorelai said.

Michel rolled his eyes. "Must you do this again?" He whined.

"You're joining the circus?" Sookie guessed.

"No."

"Richard and Emily aren't your real parents?"

"No."

She gasped. "'Michel's not really French!"

"No."

She let out a sigh. "I'm out."

"I'm getting married!"

"Oh my God!"

"I know!"

Sookie threw her arms around Lorelai and they jumped around like teenagers.

"You are going to scare people." Michel told them nonchalantly.

"Let me see your ring." Sookie said excitedly.

"I don't have it."

"Why not?"

"We're not telling people yet."

"Good job." Michel said.

"Sookie doesn't count.

"How did it happen?" Sookie asked. "Did he get down on one knee?"

"I asked him."

"You proposed! Oh my God! Don't tell your mother that."

Michel sighed as he looked over the registration book. "You two are annoying me."

Sookie glared at him then turned to Lorelai. "You're gonna go through with it this time, right? 'Cause last time, when I had to throw out Clyde, I was pretty traumatized."

"Who is Clyde?"

"Clyde was your wedding cake."

"Oh, Sookie. You named my wedding cake. You said you forgot about the cake."

"Well, I lied." She sighed sadly. "He was a good cake. I miss him."

Lorelai hugged her tightly. "Aw, Sook. That's only kinda weird."

"Thanks."

"And I promise you can get as attached to this cake as you want. Until the wedding at least. I don't want you freaking out when we cut it."

"Yay! Keith is gonna be the best cake ever. Oh my God! I need to start planning. Keith is not gonna bake himself." She giggled happily as she ran back to the kitchen.

"Your insanity is rubbing off on her." Michel said.

She smiled at him. "I'm getting married."

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Jess and Rory sitting on the floor of the gazebo drawing a flier for the emergency meeting when Rory's cell phone rang. "Hello?" She answered.

"Hey, it's Luke."

Her eyes went wide and she threw herself on the flier. "Hi Luke. What's up?"

"What are you doing?" Jess asked, amused. "He can't see us from the diner."

"Is Jess with you?" Luke asked. "I tried him on his cell but it's not on."

"Yea, he's right here."

"Can I talk to him?"

"Yea, hold on." She went to hand him the phone but pulled it back at the last minute. "Uh, Luke, umm, I forgot to tell you this morning that I'm really happy for you and Mom. Also, if you ever hurt her, I will kill you slowly and painfully. Here's Jess."

He reached over and took the phone from her. "Luke?"

"Wow. That was actually frightening."

"Yea."

"I need you to work tomorrow."

"Why?"

"I'm playing hooky with Lorelai."

"Can't you ask Lane?"

"Lane can't cook. You can. So unless you looking for all my customers to get food poisoning, I need you there too."

"Caesar?"

"He's out of town for a couple days. Please, Jess."

He really had no problem working the next day, in fact in made what he and Rory were planning that much easier, but Luke would've known something was up if he hadn't argued a little. "Alright."

"Thank you."

"No problem."

"Great." He nodded. "I got some customers so I'm gonna go."

"Okay"

"Bye."

Jess hung up and smiled at Rory. "Guess what."

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"Dragonfly Inn. Lorelai speaking."

"Mommy, what are your plans for this evening?"

"Luke's coming home early so I can have my way with him."

"That's just what your daughter wants to hear. How early?"

"I don't know. Eight-ish. Why? Got a hot night with Jess planned?"

"Do you really want to know the answer to that?"

"Not so much."

"I threatened Luke." She blurted out.

Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Really?"

"I told him I was going to kill him slowly and painfully."

"Rory, hon, as much as much faith as I have in you, I don't think you could take _Michel _in a fight."

"I could so take Michel."

"Yea, okay. So, what brought on this new, violent Rory?"

"Well, I was telling him I was happy for you guys and I got all protective."

"Ahh, so it was a 'hurt Mommy and die' kind of thing."

"It was mean. I should apologize."

"It's alright. I'll take care of it."

"I just don't want Luke to be mad at me."

"Hey, hon. I gotta go. Michel's having a fit 'cause I'm at his desk. Love ya, kid."

"Love ya, Mom." Rory hung up and headed to Taylor's where Jess was talking to Kirk.

"And make sure Luke and Lorelai don't find out. Do not let them see a flyer. Got it?"

Kirk nodded. "So, if I pass these out and don't let Luke or Lorelai find out your plan, I get free breakfast four days a week for a month?"

"Yes."

"Okay." He took the stack of papers from Jess and walked out of the store.

"What did Lorelai say?" Jess asked when he saw Rory standing by the door.

"Luke's heading home around eight so she can have her way with him."

He cringed a little. "That's just a little bit more than I needed to know."

"Yea. But it means they are completely out of the way tonight."

"True. And they're completely out of the way right now, so…" He looked at her suggestively.

She kissed him quickly, the fact that Taylor was right behind the counter not escaping her attention. "I would love to, but I can't. I have class in an hour."

"Do you want me to drive you?"

"No. I don't want to make you drive all the way there and then all the way back and then all-"

"Ror. I got it."

"Right." She took his chin in her hand and brushed her lips against his. "See you tonight." She said softly then kissed him again. "Love you."

"Love you, too."

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Kirk walked into the diner at seven-thirty and sat at the counter. He sat the few fliers he had left in front of him and looked around for Luke.

"Hey, Kirk." Luke threw his towel over his shoulder as he walked out of the kitchen. "I'm heading out at eight, so make it quick."

"Ham on rye. That's one of the faster sandwiches to assemble."

"I know Kirk." He looked at the small stack of paper on the counter. "What's with the fliers?"

Kirk's eyes went wide as he panicked and ran out of the diner, the fliers clutched tightly in his hands.

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Luke got out of his truck and walked up the front porch at Lorelai's house carrying two bags of food. He tried to open the door but it wouldn't move. "Lorelai!"

She stuck her head out of the upstairs window. "Yea?"

He backed off the porch until he could see her. "Your door's stuck."

"No it's not. I put a chair in front of it."

"Why?"

"So you couldn't get in. Hold on. I'll move it." When she disappeared back into the house he walked back onto the porch and waited for her to get downstairs. "Hey." She said after she moved the chair and got the door open.

"Hi." He walked inside and shut the door behind him.

She reached over and took one of the bags from him. "Sorry about all that. I was working on the plans for my dress. I didn't want you to see."

"Ah," He nodded as they walked into the kitchen. "So, I can expect the thing with the chair a lot?"

She smiled happily at him as she unpacked the bags. "Just until we're married."

"And how long do you think that will be?"

"Okay, wow." She put the to-go boxes down. "Uh, I thought we'd wait until after dinner to do this, but okay." She walked into the living room to get the calendar.

"Lorelai, wait. We can do this later if you want." He said as he followed her.

"Uh-uh. Sit." She led him over to the couch and sat next to him. "We should pick a date."

"Oh," He said remembering something. "Wait a second. I have your ring." He took the box out of his pocket and opened it. "Do you want me to…" At her nod he took her hand and slipped the ring onto her finger. "I expect it to stay there this time."

"For the rest of my life." She promised. "You'll have to pry this baby off my cold dead fingers."

"That's a nice thought." He said sarcastically. "Pulling the engagement ring off my wife's dead body."

Lorelai wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. "Mmm, that sounds nice." After a second she added, "Well, the wife part."

Luke laughed. "Let me see the calendar."

She picked it up and handed it to him. "I think we should do it while Rory's off from school, so she doesn't have to miss any classes."

He nodded and flipped a few pages. "July 21st."

"July 21st?" She questioned.

"Well, Rory's off from school, it's soon, and it's a full moon which means it won't get too dark."

"July 21st." She nodded. "What day is that?"

"Uh, Thursday."

She sat up and grabbed a note pad and pen off the coffee table. "Umm," She handed them to Luke. "Here. Write this down."

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After he made sure everyone had turned in their fliers and was seated at Miss Patty's, Jess made his way to the podium, where Rory was waiting to start the meeting. "We ready?" He asked her.

"Umm, I think so." She turned to Taylor. "Can we..."

"It's your meeting."

"Okay." She went to the podium and spoke into the microphone. "Excuse me. Hi. I'm sorry to have dragged you all here on such short notice but Jess and I need to talk to you about something."

"C'mon!" Kirk yelled. "Mother wants me home by nine."

Rory looked at him funny. "Kirk, you don't live with your mother."

"I know."

She shook her head. "Okay, uh, my mom, Lorelai, and Luke are getting married." She looked over at Jess when everyone started talking.

"Finish up." He said seriously. "Kirk's gotta get home."

She smiled and went back to the podium. "I have one more thing to ask." She said loudly, getting everyone's attention. "We are…well, it was Jess's idea…but we're planning a surprise engagement party and we have to do it tomorrow and we need help from all of you to put it together."

"Of course, dear." Miss Patty said. "We'll do anything you want."

"Yea, babe." Babette agreed. "You girls are family. And Luke and Jess are…well, they're grumpy and grumpier, but we love 'em anyway."

Rory smiled at Jess then looked back at the town. "Okay, we need food, music, decorations, uh, drinks….."

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"Alright, alright." Lorelai said as she finished her dinner. "Read me the list."

Luke sighed. "One: Close the inn the 17th-23rd. Two: Make dresses. Three: Rent tuxedos. Four: Ask Lane if the band will play at the wedding. Five: Get invitations. Six: Make plans to move the chuppah to the square-don't you think we should ask if we can get married in the square before we move the chuppah?"

"Uh, no. Keep going."

"Seven: Pick a song for the first dance. "Eight: Hire a photographer. Nine: Kirk-proof plans."

"Put a star next to number nine."

"Lorelai…" He put the list on the table.

"What?" She asked worried that he was changed his mind. "What's wrong?"

He grabbed her arm and pulled her onto his lap. "Tell me this is really happening."

She held his face in her hands and leaned her forehead against his. "It's happening. We're getting married."

"Sometimes I think this is all just another dream and that I'm going to wake up in my apartment, alone." He looked hurt when Lorelai started to laugh.

"Sorry." She said. "I just…we're not usually this insecure. You'd think getting engaged would make us more…"

"Secure?" He offered.

"Yea. I guess we'll have to work on that." Her hands slid down to his chest and she turned her body to straddle his lap. "So, I was thinking..." She said as she kissed along his jaw.

"That's never good." He teased.

She pulled back and pretended to be insulted as she started to climb off his lap. "Mean."

He grinned as he caught her around the waist and pulled her back down. "Uh-uh. You're not going anywhere." He laid her down on the couch and kissed her hard before trailing his lips down her neck. "So, what was it that you were thinking about?"

"I…I don't…" She breathed in sharply when he bit down lightly on her shoulder. "Luke." She moaned.

"I know I said tomorrow, but…"

"Upstairs." She tightened her grip on his arms.

"What was that?" He asked, wanting to torture her a little.

She squeezed his arms a little too tightly as she growled, "Upstairs. Now."

He laughed but picked her up and started for the stairs.


	19. Play it Safe

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

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"Oh my God." Lorelai said as she picked up the Stars Hollow Gazette that was on her porch. "Luke!" She yelled as she went back in the house.

He walked out of the kitchen holding a spatula. "What's wrong?"

"Look at this." She held the paper up in front of her.

His jaw dropped when he saw a large picture of Lorelai sitting on his lap on the front porch of her house on the front page. "What…" He took the paper out of her hand and skimmed over the article. "This…this is…wow."

She poked the headline. "_Ribbons Turn Purple as Lorelai and Luke Plan their Wedding. _We're on the front page. We're the lead story."

He shook his head as he handed her the paper and went back to the kitchen to check on her French toast. "You know that picture came off the wall in my apartment."

"No. Jess?" She asked as she poured herself a cup of coffee and sat at the table. "But he hates all things town related."

"Oh, he definitely wrote this, but I'm pretty sure the picture is courtesy of someone's coffee addicted daughter."

"Rory? My sweet, innocent Rory? My beautiful, intelligent, sweet, innocent Rory?" She shrugged. "Yea, probably."

He put her food onto a plate and turned off the stove as she read the story Jess wrote. "Here."

She looked up when he put the plate in front of her. "Food? There's no time for food." She waved the paper in front of him. "It says we're engaged in here."

He had no idea where she was going with this. "Okay…"

"We have to get out of here before the whole town is banging down my door."

He nodded. "So, in other words, you want me to wrap your food up and put the rest of the coffee in a thermos while you go upstairs and get dressed?"

"Well, I'm certainly not gonna let perfectly good French toast go to waste just because we have to leave town for the day."

He pulled her to her to her feet and slid his hands around to the small of her back. "You know," He said as he started kissing her neck. "We could just stay here today."

"Mmm." She moaned then pushed him away a little. "As appealing as that sounds, there are too many people in this town that have a key to my house."

"Just put that chair back in front of the door." He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers.

She really, really wanted to drag him upstairs, but instead she leaned back and started naming people that had the key to her house. "Rory, Jess, Babette, Sookie, Jackson, Lane, Paris, Miss Patty, Michel, Emily, Richard, Kirk-"

"Kirk? Kirk has a key to your house?"

"-Tom, Pete, Joe, Liz, Lulu, Zach, Brian, Gil, Gypsy, Bootsy-"

"Why would you give Kirk the key to your house? Have you completely lost your mind?"

She shook her head. "That's what he gets stuck on. Not a peep when I tell him he's not getting any, but I mention Kirk has a key to my house and he can't stop talking."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Go get dressed. I'll clean up down here."

"Jeez. Bossy." She said dramatically then kissed him before she ran upstairs.

He picked up a pair of scissors and smiled as he cut out the article about him and Lorelai and hung it on the fridge.

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Rory had twenty minutes before she had to go to her next class so she dropped her bag onto the floor and flopped down onto her bed. She laid there for a minute before grabbing her cell phone and dialing Jess's number.

It rang three times before he picked up. "Hello?"

She closed her eyes and smiled at the sound of his voice. "Hey, it's me."

"Hey. Are you still at Yale?"

"Yea. I have another class and then a thing for the paper, but I can skip that if you need me."

"No. I don't want Doyle to sic Paris on me because you missed a meeting."

She laughed. "So how's everything going?"

"Pretty good. Sookie made enough food to feed a small country. Jackson's on drinks. Lane is manning the phone at the diner in case Luke calls. Babette and Miss Patty are doing decorations. Zach and Morey are picking the music. And Kirk only fell off the ladder once while he was hanging up the banner."

Rory gasped. "Oh, no."

"What? What's wrong?"

"Crap. We didn't get Mom and Luke a present."

"Relax. We have plenty of time to get a present. You'll be back by three, so that leaves us five hours to go shopping."

"You're right. I just…this is important, so…"

"I know, Ror." He smiled. "Don't worry. Just go to class, and we'll take care of everything when you get home. Okay?"

"Yea. I'll see you in a couple hours. I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Bye."

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"Lucas!" Maisy called when she saw Luke and Lorelai walk into Sniffy's around four.

"Hey, Maisy." He smiled and gave her a hug.

"It's so good to see you. And Lorelai." She turned her attention to Lorelai. "You're looking as beautiful as ever."

"Thank you." She said, hugging the woman lightly.

"Now, what are you two doing here?" Her eyes went wide when she saw Lorelai's ring. "And what is this?" She grabbed the younger woman's hand and admired the ring before looking at Luke. "Lucas Danes. You didn't tell me you were engaged."

"I…it just-"

She cut him off when she called her husbands name loudly. "Buddy!" She turned back to Luke and Lorelai. "Well, come on. Sit down."

They looked at each other then sat at the nearest booth.

"Let me get you two some champagne." She smiled at them and started for the kitchen "Buddy!" She yelled again.

"I really hate champagne." Luke told her.

Lorelai grinned and held out her purse. "Here."

He raised his eyebrows but took the purse. "Why are you giving me this?"

"Just open it."

He unzipped it and looked inside then smiled when he saw a flask stuffed inside. "You brought your own alcohol?"

"Well, I figured I'd have to liquor you up a little before you'd-"

"Don't say it."

She pouted and took her purse out of his hands. "You're no fun."

"You won't be saying that once you get me liquored up."

Her eyes sparkled as a giant smile spread across her face. "I love you, Luke."

He leaned over and kissed her passionately, his hand sliding up to cup her face. "I love you, too." He murmured before pulling her lips back to his.

They pulled away from each other when they heard someone clear their throat to see Buddy smiling down at them. "I haven't seen that kind of behavior in here since it was a whorehouse."

"They do say history is doomed to repeat itself." Lorelai said.

He laughed then looked over at Luke who was blushing. "Maisy said you two had some news. And I'm guessing it has something to do with that ring on Lorelai's hand." He smiled when Luke and Lorelai looked warmly at each other.

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Jess walked out of Miss Patty's just as Rory was getting out of her car. "Hey."

"Hi." She gave him a quick kiss. "So, why is Sookie chasing Kirk down the street with a big pot?"

"He snuck into the inn and stole some food, and then when he was trying to escape he spilled a bowl of chocolate chip into her salsa."

Rory nodded. "I give her ten minutes before she realizes Mom will like it better that way."

"Let's hope Kirk doesn't trip before then."

"Somebody'll probably pull Sookie away before she kills him."

He put his arm around her shoulder and led her to his car. "C'mon. I have a feeling this shopping trip is gonna last five hours."

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"Ah, lovely child of mine!" Lorelai answered her cell phone as she and Luke drove back to Stars Hollow.

"It's eight o'clock!" Rory said loudly.

She raised her eyebrows. "Do you know where your children are?"

"What?"

"I don't know. What are you talking about?"

"It's eight o'clock. You're supposed to be at the town meeting."

"Oh, hon. We're really tired. I don't think-"

"No! I…I mean, no, you can't miss the town meeting. Jess isn't any good at mocking Taylor. I need you there."

"Okay. But when I get there you're gonna tell me what's going on."

"Bring Luke." She said then hung up.

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"I think my daughter is up to something." Lorelai told Luke after she got off the phone with Rory.

"Why?"

"She's really determined to have us at the town meeting tonight."

He shrugged. "Maybe she just doesn't want to deal with the town insanity by herself. We did leave her and Jess to answer all the questions."

"Oh, I didn't even think of that. Jess was probably swamped at the diner today."

"That's what he gets for writing that article."

"Yea! We're mad at them…wait, why are we mad at them? It did kinda make it easier on us since we didn't have to tell everybody."

"So we're not mad?" He asked as he stopped the truck in front of the diner.

"I guess not." She got out and waited for him to meet her on the sidewalk.

He put his arm around her waist and kissed her temple as they started walking towards Miss Patty's. "Good."

"Do you think they'll be okay with this?"

"Who?"

"The town. Do you think they'll be okay with the engagement?"

He stopped walking and looked into her eyes. "Does it matter?"

"Luke, of course it doesn't matter. I mean, I want them to be happy about it, but it won't change anything if they're not." She hit him lightly on the chest. "Hey, I thought we were done being insecure"

He leaned down and kissed her softly. "Sorry. That was the last time."

"Good." She laced their fingers together and led him to the door of the dance studio. "This is it." She told him, gripping his hand. "Ready?" When he nodded she reached over and slid the door open.

Lorelai was so shocked by the sight of the entire town standing under a banner that said 'Congratulations Lorelai and Luke' that she barely heard the loud "Surprise," they shouted. She gasped as she looked over at an equally shocked Luke. "Oh my God."

His smile sparkled as he pulled her close and pressed his lips against hers then leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Looks like they're okay with it."

She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and giggled against his shoulder.


	20. Memory of a Free Festival

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

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Lorelai felt tears well up in her eyes as she hugged Rory and Jess as tight as she could. "This is so amazing. I love you guys." She pulled back and looked at Jess. "I swear to God if you tell anybody I said that, I will kill you."

Luke waited until she stepped away before giving Rory and Jess each a hug then moved back to Lorelai's side. "Thanks. This is great." He told them.

"You guys deserve it." Rory smiled at them.

"Yea." Jess added. "Congratulations…oh, sorry." He looked at Luke. "Congratulations." He turned to Lorelai. "Best wishes."

Luke glared at him. "Shut up."

He just smiled as he took Rory's hand and led her over to one of the snack tables.

"What was that about?" Lorelai looked curiously at Luke.

"Just...something I said to him at your parents wedding."

"My parents wedding. Not one of our finer moments."

"No." He looked over her shoulder to see Sookie and Jackson heading towards them. "Ready for the town insanity?"

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"Presents!" Lorelai squealed happily when Sookie asked her if she and Luke wanted to open their presents yet.

"I'll take that as a yes." Sookie nodded and went to tell Lane to turn off the music.

She turned to Luke, who was standing behind her and grabbed his hand to drag him over to the corner where all the presents sat. "C'mon." She plopped herself down on the floor and pulled him down next to her.

"You know, I'm pretty sure they set that couch up over there for a reason." Luke told her.

"But it's all the way over there." She pointed to the couch that was about fifteen feet away. "And the presents are all the way over here."

"So, we're sitting on the floor because you don't want to wait four seconds for someone to carry a present from here to the couch."

"Yea." She said like it was obvious. "When have you ever mistaken me for a patient person?" She looked up when the music cut off then started pushing on Luke's legs until he moved them enough for her to sit between them with her back against his chest. "It's present time." She said giddily as she turned her head to look at him.

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Luke smiled as he watched Lorelai take another present from Rory. She had worked her way through most of the pile, passing a box to him every so often, because she felt some need to let him open a couple presents, even though she knew he'd much rather watch her open all of them. He kept his eyes on her since he saw the way her face light up when Rory handed her the first present, but when he saw the glint in her eyes that she always got before she said something dirty, he knew he had to look. So his gaze slid down Lorelai's arm and to the box that was sitting on her lap. All spread out in the box were four animal print thongs that he immediately knew weren't for Lorelai. "Oh, God." He quickly looked away, keeping his eyes on anything that wasn't that box.

Lorelai turned her head and kissed the side of his mouth before looking back at the rest of the town. "Thirteen shades of red. Thanks Patty."

"Oh, not a problem, dear. Just make sure to get pictures."

She looked back over her shoulder at Luke when he muttered a quiet "Ah, jeez," in her ear and grinned. "I can't wait to get you into these." She gave him a long, sweet kiss when he blushed again then whispered, "Twenty-two shades. We're doing pretty good."

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Rory looked around the room for Jess and spotted him leaning against the wall near the door. She walked over and leaned next to him. "What'cha doin' over here?"

He shrugged. "Just watching."

She looked around the room to see what he was looking at. Lane and Kirk were standing in the corner of the room, where they had set up the stereo system, arguing about something or other. Miss Patty was talking to Zach and Brian over by the drink table. Sookie, Jackson, Babette, Morey, and a few others were in the area in the middle of the room that had been turned into dance floor, slow dancing. And finally her gaze landed on her mother and Luke who were sitting on the floor, surrounded by presents and wrapping paper and boxes and bags and tissue paper, smiling and laughing. She smiled at that then leaned into Jess's side. "We did good."

Having also been watching Luke and Lorelai, he slid his arm around her shoulders and nodded. "Yea. We did."

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Around eleven, Lorelai grabbed two drinks off one of the buffet tables and made her way through the crowd to find Luke. She saw him sitting on the couch that had been set on the far side of the room and walked towards him. "Hey." She handed him one of the drinks and settled herself on his lap. "You okay?"

"Yea." He gave her a long kiss on the lips. "This just isn't my thing."

"Well, mister, you're gonna be married to me pretty soon, so you better make it your thing." She smiled at pressed her forehead against his. "I love you, Luke Danes."

He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Lorelai?"

"Yea?"

"I wish my parents were here."

"Luke…" She took their drinks and set them on the table next to the couch. "Oh, hon…" She said sympathetically as she slid her hands up his chest and around his neck then settled her head on his shoulder. "I wish they were here too."

"They would've loved you." He said softly.

She brushed her lips against his neck. "At least someone's parents would."

He ran his fingers up her spine and felt her shiver against him. "Lorelai, I know you want…you should…" He sighed. "I think you should tell them."

"I know. I just…I'm so happy, Luke. You make me so happy and I don't want them to destroy this." She closed her eyes and pressed her face against his shoulder then sat up, but couldn't meet his eyes. "I don't want them to turn this into another one of my screw-ups."

He took her face in his hands and turned her to look at him. "Do you think this is a screw-up?"

"No. Luke...never."

"Then, that's what matters."

"I want them to be happy about this…about us."

"I know. Me too."

She nodded then stood up and grabbed his hand, pulling him to his feet. "C'mon. I know what we're gonna do."

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Rory walked out the door of Miss Patty's and saw Jess sitting on the stairs, holding a beer. "Hey." She sat down next to him and laid her hand on his thigh. "The party too much?"

He took a sip of his beer then set it beside him. "Nah, just thought I'd get a little fresh air."

"Miss Patty was hitting on you." She said knowingly.

"God, that woman doesn't give up."

Rory laughed as she laid her head on his shoulder. "I gotta go back to school."

He nodded. "I know."

"I don't wanna go."

"I know." He reached over and intertwined their fingers. "Do you want me to drive you?"

"No, my car's here, so…" She shrugged. "I wish I could stay here to help clean up."

He looked at her skeptically. "Really?"

"Well…no. But I do feel bad leaving you guys to do it."

"You have class. That's more important. Besides, I could probably get Kirk to clean up for twenty bucks."

"Give him at least fifty." She said then squeezed his hand and stood up. "I have to get going. I have a class at seven."

He grabbed her belt and pulled her down to him, and gave her a slow, sweet kiss before releasing her. "Bye."

She stepped back with a big goofy grin on her face. "Bye, Jess."

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Luke fidgeted on the front step while Lorelai shined a flashlight on the front door. "Lorelai." He said. "I'm really not comfortable breaking into your parents' house."

She stopped what she was doing to look at him. "We're not breaking in. I have a key." She told him before turning back to the door.

He heard a soft _click_ before she flashed him a triumphant smile and pushed the door open. "Ah, jeez."

She started inside but stopped when she realized he wasn't following. "Come on." She whispered loudly. He just stood there, so after a minute she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him onto the house.

"Lorelai…" He said quietly.

"Would you chill out? This was your idea, you know." She said, leading him towards the stairs.

He froze at the bottom step. "Oh, no. Breaking into your parents' house at twelve o'clock in the morning was definitely not my idea."

She let out an exasperated sigh then walked back down to him and started to push him up the stairs. "You wanted me to tell my parents, so that's what we're doing. Now, let's go."

He grumbled about her being crazy, but let her push him upstairs.

"Okay." She stopped in front of her parents' bedroom door. "I can do this. We'll go in, tell them we're engaged, then leave." He nodded and she reached for the door but stooped and looked back at him. "Oh, and if my father is wearing ass-less chaps and my mother has a whip just slowly back out of the room." She smirked at him before throwing the door open and marching into her parents' room.

Both Emily and Richard shot up in bed and looked in their daughter's direction. "Lorelai?" Emily said as she turned her light on. "Luke?" She noticed him standing behind Lorelai. "What are you doing here? It's the middle of the-"

"We're getting married." Lorelai interrupted then held up her hand when her mother started to speak. "Don't say anything. I know you don't like Luke because he's not rich and he's not Rory's biological father, but I love him and Rory loves him, and he loves us, and that is all that matters." She handed Emily a piece of paper. "That, uh…it says the date of the wedding and, umm, well, you'll get a real invitation when we send them out, but I – we – we wanted you to know that we are getting married because you're my family and I don't want to push you out of my life, so, umm, that's it. We'll let you guys go back to sleep. Goodnight Mom, Dad." She nodded at them and walked out of the room.

Luke gave them an awkward wave and followed her.

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Neither of them spoke all the way back to Stars Hollow, until they got to Lorelai's house. She turned off the Jeep's engine and looked over at Luke. "That went…well, right?"

"I don't know. Neither of them tried to kill me." He offered.

She leaned across the seat to hug him tightly…well, as tight as she could with the awkward angle they we sitting at. "That's not subtle enough Richard and Emily Gilmore." She muttered against his neck.

He smiled into her hair then let her go and climbed out of the car.

Lorelai watched him then pushed her door open and walked around to the front of the car where Luke pulled her back into his arms. "Mmm." She sighed contentedly. "Much better."

He splayed one hand across her lower back and ran the other over her hair. "So, you wanna go back to the party?" He joked.

"Ugh." She groaned. "God, no. It's like one in the morning. I'd be a heap on the ground if you weren't holding me up. Literally and in all those sappy metaphorical ways." She let out a slight gasp of surprise when he lifted her into his arms and started carrying her towards the house. "Look at you." She grinned. "Sweeping me off my feet."

He just looked down at her and shook his head.


	21. Pablo Picasso

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

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"Lorelai!" Luke yelled up the stairs, trying to be heard over the '80s music she had blasting in her – their – room. When he had gotten up for work the day before, she informed him that he was to move in with her, then rolled over and went back to sleep.

She turned the music down a little. "Yea?"

"Why are all my boxes in the kitchen?"

"Jess didn't have time to put them in the right rooms so I told him to leave them there."

"Why didn't he just leave them in the living room?"

"Cause we use the living room."

"And where exactly do you think I cook all the food I make in this house?"

She groaned loudly. "Just let me finish what I'm doing and I'll help you unpack."

"What _are _you doing?"

"Making room in the closet. I think we might need another dresser too. And a mirror to hang on the ceiling." She waited for the 'jeez' before continuing. "Why don't you start unpacking all the shiny kitchen things?"

"You have no clue what's in any of these boxes, do you?" He asked amusedly.

"Hey, I totally packed the flannel. And I saw Jess put a big shiny mix-y thing in one of the boxes. Ooh, ooh, and Bert's down there and, uh…a…spatula."

He laughed a little. "I can't believe you made Jess pack all my stuff by himself."

"I said I packed the flannel. And he was dead set against going near the underwear drawer. Besides, I didn't see you helping."

"You know that place where you eat about seventy-five percent of your meals? Someone does need to run it, if you want it to stay open. And Jess said he'd rather pack then cook, so…"

"He probably just wanted to see if you had anything good stashed up there. You should have seen the look on his face when he saw the naked pictures of me you keep in the nightstand. He hasn't been able to look me in the eye since then."

"You really think I leave naked pictures of you in my nightstand where my nephew could find them?"

"I'm just kidding, Luke. I know you keep them under your mattress."

"And you say that like I didn't walk in on you putting them there."

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be unpacking?"

"I don't know. If I take the box with the flannel and my underwear I could probably get Jess to do the rest of it."

"Go. Unpack."

He grinned then made his way to the kitchen to unpack the 'shiny kitchen things'.

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Rory was sitting on the couch in her dorm room with the Clash CD she stole from Jess playing loudly while she studied. When she heard a knock at the door she closed her book and climbed off the couch. A smile graced her lips when she pulled the door open. "Hey you." She gave Jess a soft kiss on the lips then stepped back to let him in.

When he got to the living room her looked her up and down and smirked. "I think I saw that look on the fashion channel last week."

She looked down at the flannel Curious George pajamas she had on then smiled at Jess. "These are adorable."

"Do you have a big yellow hat?"

She stuck her tongue out at him, which only made him grab her hips and pull her body against his. "Why are you in your pajamas at seven o'clock?"

"They're…" She breathed in sharply when his hands, still chilly from the night air, slid under her shirt to rest on her skin, heated by the flannel. "My clothes were wet. It was raining."

He leaned down and brushed his lips against the skin just below her ear then let his tongue slide over her earlobe. He heard her whimper then whispered, "Go get changed. I wanna show you something." He turned her around and gave her a light push towards her bedroom.

She muttered something that sounded like 'evil' before walking into her room to get dressed.

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After a short drive, Jess helped a blindfolded Rory out of his car and put his hands on her hips as he stepped behind her. "This is a lot nicer than the flannel." He said of the t-shirt and tight jeans she had changed into.

"Oh, yea," She said sarcastically. "The blindfold goes great with these shoes."

He grinned and kissed the back of her neck. "You can take it off in a minute."

"Fine. Lead the way." She waved her hand blindly in front of them.

He brushed another light kiss on her neck then guided her forward. "Step." He said when they got to the stairs. "Step. One more." He stopped her on the porch and opened the door before leading her inside. He stopped walking and untied her blindfold but kept it covering her eyes. "Ready?"

She nodded. "Yes. Let's go. I wanna see." When he let the blindfold fall to the floor she looked around, confused. "Huh. This is…well, it's exactly the same as the last time we were here."

"Not quite."

She raised her eyebrows at him. "I'm really not seeing…"

"Oh, hold on." He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to her. "This might help."

She gave him a funny look but unfolded the paper. A soft gasp escaped her lips as she read it. "Jess…" She breathed. "This…this is the deed. You bought…" She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a fiery kiss.

He felt her teeth against his lips as she smiled into the kiss and pulled back a little. "So what do you think?"

"I think…" She looked back down at the paper. "I think I'm shocked that you managed to keep this a secret for two weeks."

"No one knows. Well, Luke and Lorelai, but that's it."

Suddenly she realized something and gasped. "Oh my God! It's you! You're the guy Mom's cheating on Luke with."

"I'm _what_?"

"In her palm pilot, it said 'call Tom for price estimates' and she said it was for a friend that I didn't know and I thought she was cheating on Luke but it was you so hopefully she's not 'cause that would be wrong because you shouldn't sleep with your daughter's boyfriend especially if he's also your fiancé's nephew. And this whole thing is throwing a major weird factor into our relationship 'cause now we're step-cousins but I guess it's still okay since we're not blood related and we dated two years before Mom and Luke got together but it's still kinda weird." She stopped and took a deep breath. "And that was totally off subject."

He grinned at her, thoroughly amused. "I like when you babble."

She smiled then waved her hand around. "Well, come on. Give me the grand tour."

He raised his eyebrow, knowing she'd every room in the building more than once, but took her hand and led her towards the back room anyway. "We really need to work on the name."

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Luke leaned against the counter when he got a free minute and watched Lorelai eat the breakfast he made minutes earlier. "What time do you have to be at the inn?"

She took a sip of her coffee before answering. "I don't. I have a date with your nephew."

"Right." He said, remembering Jess asking about paint shopping. "He gets around doesn't he?"

She clasped a hand to her chest dramatically. "He just wants me for my paint. I know he'll never leave her, but I just want this one day."

"Where is Jess, anyway?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I'm meeting him at his place. I need to get a feel for the place before I can pick the colors.

He shook his head. "I still can't believe he's letting you do this."

She gasped. "You don't have faith in my paint choosing skills?"

"None whatsoever."

"Then – what? That's not what you're supposed to say. You're supposed to say 'Lorelai, my love, the woman I am choosing to spend the rest of my life with, of course I have complete faith in your paint choosing and all other skills, because you are the perfect woman and I couldn't paint anything without you'."

He leaned in close and whispered in her ear. "Lorelai…it would be wrong to lie to you." He pulled back and smirked.

Lorelai gaped and smacked his chest lightly. "See, this is why I have to paint with Jess on the side."

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"Oh, come on."

"No!" Jess argued.

"But it's so pretty." Lorelai whined at him.

"I thought we decided this at the apartment. No pink."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "We never decided that."

He sighed. "Yes we did. We were upstairs in the kitchen looking at the swatches…"

"I have no recollection of this."

"We looked at swatches. You don't remember the swatches?"

"No. But hearing you say swatches is really fun."

He glared at her. "We looked at the…paint chips and you sang that stupid song you made up and…you know what, never mind. It doesn't matter. I'm not painting my apartment…" He looked at the label. "…Rugosa. _Rugosa_? What the hell is Rugosa?"

"All the paint has funny names. We picked Windstream with Arabian Night trim for the bedroom, and Lime Hint with Mariposa for the bathroom and the downstairs is…Pure White. Okay, so they don't all have weird names but downstairs is white 'cause you wanna hang all that stuff on the walls."

"You're still not painting the living room pink."

She frowned. "Damn."

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"And he said he pushed back replacing the floors a week because he wanted to paint first so somebody – well, you – didn't spill paint on his new floor." Rory told Lorelai as she got ready for Friday Night Dinner.

Lorelai sat on the couch flipping through a magazine. "That's great, honey."

She stopped lining her eye and stuck her head out of her room. "Are you even listening to me?"

She closed the magazine and tossed it onto the coffee table. "Floors. Pushed back a week. Jess doesn't trust me with paint. And what are you doing?"

"Getting dressed?"

"Why? Going somewhere?"

She glared and went back into her room. "We are not doing this again."

Lorelai got up and walked to Rory's doorway. "Not doing what?" She asked innocently.

"Stop it."

"Stop what?"

She put the lid on her eyeliner and turned on her mother. "I'm getting dressed because Jess is picking me up at quarter after so we can to Friday Night Dinner. Okay? I'm going to Friday Night Dinner and if you start dancing or make up a song or mock me in anyway I'm gonna stab you with this pencil."

"Did I tell you that Luke moved in?"

She dropped her arm and went to the closet to find her shoes. "No, but I saw the big, shiny mixing thing in the kitchen so I kinda figured it out."

"I'm sorry. I should have asked you first. This is your house too, and I didn't even-"

"Mom." She sat on the bed to pull her shoes on. "You guys are getting married. Living in the same house is kind of a necessary step. And you know I love having Luke here."

She smiled and sat next to her daughter. "And how cool is the mixing thing?"

"You don't even know what it's for."

"No, but it's really pretty."

"Okay." She stood up to get her purse off her dresser only to find it missing. "Where's my purse?"

"She's a little ashamed about it, but she's been seeing the fanny pack, but you didn't hear it from me."

"So, you borrowed it and left it at Luke's?"

She shrugged. "I could call Jess and tell him to bring it."

Rory shook her head and walked out of her room. "It's okay. I'll just use one of yours." She laughed. "I can't believe you still own a fanny pack."

Lorelai followed her daughter to the living room then watched her run up the stairs. "Don't mock."

"I mock only that which I love." She called back.

"We both know you only love me for my lovely purse collection."

"_Your _purse collection? More than half of these are mine."

She clapped her hands over her ears. "Lies! All lies."

Rory looked at her watch when she heard a knock at the door. "Hey, can you get that?"

"It's not even six. I thought you were training him." She walked to the door and pulled it open, ready to lecture Jess on him punctuality and how it's frowned upon in the Gilmore house, but was shocked to see someone else standing on the porch. "Mom?"


	22. Survive

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

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"Mom?" This was definitely the last person Lorelai expected to find on her porch.

"Hello, Lorelai." Emily greeted.

"Uh, hi."

They stood like that for a minute before Emily spoke. "Do you mind if I come in?"

"Oh." She stepped back. "No, uh, come in."

Emily nodded and walked to the living room, followed closely by her daughter.

"Hey," Rory called as she made her way downstairs. "Is that Jess? Tell him he better have a damn good – Grandma." She froze on the last step.

"Hello, Rory."

"Hi. I was just getting ready for – oh, no. What time is it? Are we late? Are our clocks wrong? Did we miss a daylight savings? Mom! How could you forget to change the clocks!"

"The clocks are fine, Ror." Lorelai would have laughed if she wasn't still shocked about the sudden appearance of her mother.

"Your grandfather and I-"

"Grandpa's here?" Rory interrupted.

"He's taking a call outside. I told him it would be rude but you know how he is with his work." She said.

"Oh. But why are you guys here? Jess and I were going to leave for dinner in fifteen minutes."

"We thought we could have Friday Night Dinner here this week."

Lorelai widened her eyes. "Here? You want to have dinner here?"

"Hello?" Richard called as he walked into the house. "The door was open."

"Hi, Dad." Lorelai said. "It's fine. Come on in."

He smiled at her as he closed the door and made his way to the living room. "Well," He said to Emily. "Did you ask if we could have dinner at Luke's?"

"Ohhh." Lorelai drew out the word. "Luke's. I thought here meant _here. _And we don't have food here, so having dinner here would not actually be dinner 'cause we're foodless."

Rory shot her a 'what is wrong with you' look then turned her attention to her grandparents. "Dinner at Luke's would be great." She smiled then gasped. "Oh, no. Jess is coming over."

Lorelai put a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Why don't you and Grandpa head over to the diner now, and after I get dressed, Grandma and I will meet you there."

"Okay." She kissed Lorelai on the cheek and ran out of the house followed closely by Richard.

Lorelai waited until she heard the door close then turned on Emily. "What are you doing?"

"What?"

"Why are you here?"

Emily sat on the couch. "Your father and I thought we could have dinner here this week."

She crossed her arms across her chest. "Why? You have never wanted to have dinner here before. Why now? Is it Jess? Do you not want him in your house?"

"I can't come to your town with no ulterior motive? I always have to be up to something?"

"Mom! You always have an ulterior motive."

"That is not true."

"Yes it is! You have never come here just to see us."

"You never invited me!"

She let out an exasperated sigh. "You don't need an invitation, Mom."

"Really, because this visit is going over so well."

Lorelai sat next to Emily and breathed out a sigh.

The two sat there for a few minutes before Emily broke the silence. "Thank you for telling us."

"Thank you." She repeated slowly and frowned at her hands which were resting in her lap. "That's not congratulations."

"Lorelai-"

She held up a hand and stood up. "No, it's fine." She started for the stairs. "I need to get changed."

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Luke set a cheeseburger and fries on the counter in front of Kirk. "Do you need anything else?"

He looked at his food then back up at Luke. "Can I have some coffee?"

"You don't drink coffee, Kirk."

"I don't?"

He rolled his eyes. "You said it makes your lungs hurt."

"Does it?"

"I don't know, Kirk. Do you want me to pour you some?"

He thought about it for a couple seconds then nodded. "Okay."

He shook his head as he grabbed a mug and poured the coffee. "Here ya go, Kirk."

"Thanks, Luke." He took a sip then put the mug down. "Hehh." He wheezed and held a hand to his chest. "Ohh. Bad idea."

Luke raised his eyebrows at Kirk then looked up when the door opened. "Hey, Rory." He smiled.

"Hi, Luke."

"Jess is upstairs. You can go on up."

"Actually, I'm here for dinner."

"Aren't you going to your grandparents' house?"

"Not quite."

He narrowed his eyebrows. "Meaning?"

"Well-" She stopped when Richard walked into the diner.

"Hello, Luke." He reached his hand out across the counter.

He shook the older man's hand. "Mr. Gilmore."

Rory clapped her hands then pointed to the curtain in front of the stairs when they looked at her. "I'm gonna go get Jess." She nodded then made her way up the stairs.

Luke looked back at Richard. "You can sit anywhere."

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Rory didn't bother knocking as she pushed the apartment door open. "Jess?"

He walked out of the bathroom buttoning his dress shirt. "Hey." He gave her a short kiss. "I thought I was picking you up."

"There was a tiny change in plans." She held up her hand with her thumb and index finger a centimeter apart to emphasize her point.

"What do you mean?"

"My grandfather's downstairs. And my grandmother is on her way over with my mom."

"Why?"

"Because they heard you guys put on a terrific drag show."

"What?"

"Yea, Luke is down there right now in a boa, singing 'It's Raining Men'."

"Please tell me you're not kidding."

"They're here for Friday Night Dinner."

He raised his eyebrows. "Have they ever come here for Friday Night Dinner before?"

"No. It must be you. Ooh, maybe it's because you crashed my car and they don't want you driving me to Hartford."

He nodded. "That's probably it."

"Yea, well, I still get a little nervous when you get behind the wheel." She grinned at him.

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Lorelai and Emily walked into the diner in complete silence, each too stubborn to apologize for what happened at Lorelai's house.

"Emily." Richard called from where he was sitting with Rory and Jess.

She walked to the table to sit down while Lorelai went to the counter. "Hey." She said to Luke as she leaned across the counter to kiss him.

"Hi." He frowned, noticing she was upset about something. "You okay?"

"Yea." She waved it off. "I'm really sorry about this." She gestured to the table Rory, Jess, and her parents sat at.

He ignored her as he walked around the counter to grab her hand and pull her into the storage room. "What happened?"

She just leaned against the door and looked down at her feet.

"Did your mom say something?"

She looked up at him. "Yea. She said 'thanks for telling us'. She couldn't even get out a 'congratulations'. My own mother couldn't even say congratulations. God, Luke, she's supposed to be happy for me. Why can't I make her happy?" She swiped angrily at the tears on her cheeks. "I hate that she can get to me like this." She cried.

"Hey." Luke pulled her into his arms and ran a hand over her hair.

"I'll always be a disappointment to her. Just the stupid teenager that got knocked up at sixteen. I'll never be good enough. I ran away and I didn't marry Christopher and I lived in a potting shed and I couldn't fit in the stupid white dress and I didn't tell her I was in labor. And I can't even explain to her why I did any of it because no matter what I say, she never hears me."

"You have to make her hear you, Lorelai."

"I tried. My whole life I tried to get her to hear me. I don't know what to do."

"You just have to go out there and talk to her." He felt her nod and start to pull away, but stopped her before she opened the door. "I didn't mean right now."

"Right."

"As much as Jess would love you to take the attention off of him..."

She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek against his chest. "Yea, they'd make him go to another dinner. That would be mean. Thoroughly amusing, but mean."

Luke silently brought his hand down to play with the hem of her jacket and kissed the top of her head.

"You know," Lorelai said, lifting her head to look at him. "We've been in here for a while. You know what everyone probably thinks we're doing." She grinned wickedly.

"Yea, I know."

"And, it would be wrong to disappoint them." She said, her hands sliding under the flannel.

He took a large step back. "Okay, your parents and your daughter and my nephew are right out there." He pointed at the door. "And I have customers and…Kirk."

"Fine." She moved towards him but he took another step back. "What are you doing?" She asked looking amused.

"We can't have sex in here."

She smiled. "Can I at least kiss you?"

"You're not gonna try anything, are you?"

"Me?" She held a hand to her chest. "Never."

He narrowed his eyes. "Lorelai."

"Ooh, I love when you say me name like that. It's so hot."

"Alright, that's it. Now I'm not gonna kiss you."

"Oh, oh. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I promise I won't try anything. Please, Luke."

He gave in and pulled her closer by her waist then slowly pressed his lips to hers. Lorelai slid her hands down his back and smirked against his mouth as she squeezed his butt. He jumped back and pointed at her. "Hey!"

She giggled as she pulled the door open and bounced back into the diner.

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Kirk watched Lorelai sit at the table with Rory, Jess, Emily, and Richard and frowned. He climbed off the stool he was sitting on and pulled up a chair between Lorelai and Rory and smiled at them. "Hi."

"Hi, Kirk." Lorelai said. "What are you doing?"

"Aren't we having a group dinner?"

"No, Kirk."

"Oh," The disappointment that crossed his face didn't go unnoticed by Lorelai.

She grabbed his arm when he started to stand up. "But one more person wouldn't hurt."

He sat back down and smiled brightly. "Thank you, Lorelai. As you know, I get very lonely when Lulu is out of town."

"I know, Kirk." She lightly squeezed his forearm. "You know you're always…welcome. Right, Ror?"

"Yea." Rory said quickly. "Of course, Kirk."

He hugged her then turned his attention to the elder Gilmores. "Lulu's my girlfriend. She was picked to be the town whore, but she got sick and I had to fill in."

Rory looked at her mother behind Kirk's back and mouthed 'Oh my God' but Lorelai just took in the horrified expressions on her parents' faces and smiled.

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"That hamburger was exceptional." Richard told Luke when he walked to the table to collect the empty plates.

"Thank you, Mr. Gilmore." He gathered all the plates in his hands. "What can I get you guys for dessert?"

"Pie!" Lorelai and Rory cheered, each receiving a glare from Emily.

"Pie would be perfection." Kirk said.

Lorelai gasped. "Oh my God. Kirk, did you just make a _Friends_ reference?"

"Mother likes _Friends_. She used to make me watch it with her every week."

Jess scoffed under his breath, which earned him a kick in the shin from Rory. "Ow."

She looked at him innocently, pretending she didn't know what was wrong. "You okay?"

"Yea, fine."

"Why don't I help you with that pie." Richard offered as he stood up.

"Richard." Emily put a hand on his arm to stop him.

He moved her hand. "Emily, he can't carry six pieces of pie. He only has two hands. Lorelai, why don't you help."

"O-kay." She said hesitantly as she followed them to the counter.

Richard moved the lid while Luke got the dishes and forks. "This smells wonderful."

"It's, uh, strawberry-rhubarb. That's okay, right?"

"Did you say strawberry-rhubarb?" Kirk called.

Luke nodded. "Yes, Kirk."

"I love strawberry-rhubarb."

"I know, Kirk."

Lorelai watched the exchange then turned to look at her father, who was cutting the pie. "Why are doing that?"

"Would you rather give everyone a fork and let them eat it out of the pie tin?"

"Well, actually…"

He stopped what he was doing and looked up at her "I wanted to talk to you and Luke without everyone else hearing." He whispered as he turned his back to their table.

Lorelai pushed Luke to his right so they were standing in front of her father and able to talk without Kirk trying to read their lips. "What's up Dad?"

He started cutting the pie again as he spoke. "I want to pay for your wedding." He held up a hand when she started to protest. "I won't interfere with your plans. You can have all the chairs shaped like giant coffee cups…" He held back a laugh at the horrified look on Luke's face. "…if Luke agrees, of course, but I want to pay for it. I think I have the right to pay for my only daughter's wedding."

She looked at Luke, who just smiled and shrugged, then threw her arms around Richard. "Thank you, Dad." She took a step back when she noticed Emily, Rory, Jess, and Kirk looking at her like she was insane. "He gave me the biggest piece of pie."


	23. Right On Mother

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

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Jess stumbled tiredly out of Rory's room on Saturday morning after he awoke to the smell of something burning. In the kitchen, he was greeted with the sight of a panicked Lorelai waving around a pan of…something that was on fire. He rolled his eyes as he got a box of baking soda out of the cabinet and poured it in the pan, extinguishing the flames. "Luke's gonna kill you."

She threw the pan into the sink and took off her oven mitts. "Or, we could not tell him."

He shook his head and walked back into Rory's room.

"Hey." Rory said softly as he crawled back into bed.

He draped his arm across her waist as he pulled her towards him. "How has your mother not burned the house down?"

"The wonder of fire extinguishers." She yawned and rested her head on his chest. "Do you have work today?"

"Mm-hm. But I can get out of it if you want."

She played with the collar of his t-shirt. "Nope. Us girls have wedding planning to do."

"Sounds like fun." He mumbled, closing his eyes.

She rolled onto her side, leaning her head on her hand as she looked down at him. "What time do you have to go to work?"

"Uh…ten."

She laid her hand flat on his chest and tapped her fingers against his collar bone. "Jess." She said softly.

"Hmm?"

"What're you doing?"

He cracked one eye open and frowned at her. "What?"

"Huh?" She asked innocently.

"What do you want?"

"It's nine-thirty."

"So?"

"So, you have work at ten. That only gives you a half-hour to get ready."

He closed his eyes again. "Uh-huh. That means I have twenty-five more minutes to sleep."

"Jess." She drew out his name as she tapped his chest again.

He opened his eyes and sat up. "Fine." He rolled out of bed and stood up. "I'm up. Happy?"

She looked down at the empty space where he had been laying then up at him. "I didn't really think that through."

He smiled as he leaned down to kiss her. "I have to get to the diner."

"Fine. Leave me." She dramatically threw her arm across her eyes and flopped back onto her pillows.

"Hey, it was your idea." He placed a kiss on her forehead and walked out of the room, colliding with Lorelai. "Jeez. What the hell are you doing?"

She pointed into the room behind him. "Umm, getting my kid."

"Right. Wedding planning." He gestured in the general direction of the front door. "I have to go to work."

She stepped back, giving him room to get past her. "Bye, Jess." She watched him leave then walked into Rory's room and threw herself onto her daughter's bed. "Your boyfriend's weird."

"Says the woman who…no, there's too many choices."

"Are you saying I'm weird?"

"Never. I'm just less-than-subtly implying it."

She held a hand to her chest and pretended to be offended. "After everything I've done for you…"

She grinned as she climbed out of bed and walked to the closet. "It's not like I'm wrong."

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"Coffee!" Lorelai announced her presence as she entered the diner.

"Hey." Luke smiled at her. "You meeting Rory?"

She nodded. "Anywhere?"

"Yea." He immediately regretted saying that when she start for a table that a group of tourists were sitting at. He ran out from behind the counter to drag her to an empty table. "Why do you do that?"

"Doesn't the fiancé get special table privileges?" She asked.

He gently pushed her down onto a chair. "Only if she gets here before everyone else."

"But Kirk gets here at five 'cause he's a sad, sad man with no life."

"Then you'll just have to sit with Kirk."

She shook her head. "Why am I marrying you? 'Cause, really, not seeing the perks."

"Yea." He kissed the top of her head. "I love you, too." He smoothed her hair. "You want some coffee?"

She grinned wickedly. "I love when you talk dirty to me."

He shook his head and muttered a 'jeez' before turning around and heading to the counter.

Lorelai smiled at his back then looked at the door when the bell rang. "Hey, hon." She said to Rory. "Did you talk to Lane?"

"Yep." She sat next to her mother. "She and Zach have to go shopping first, but she said she'd meet you here tonight."

"Perfect. Is she bringing the guys?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I told her it was a band thing, so probably."

She smiled gleefully. "Wedding planning is so much fun."

"Hey." Jess walked over to the table, two mugs in hand.

Rory smiled up at him. "Hey you."

He put the mugs on the table then leaned down to kiss her. "Morning." He whispered. "Hey, Lorelai."

"Hi, Jess."

"Did you guys order yet?"

Rory shook her head. "Not yet."

"Ooh, ooh." Lorelai said. "I want-" She was cut off by a happy squeal coming from the front of the diner.

"Ahh! My boys!"

Jess froze and screwed his eyes shut. "Oh God. Please tell me it's not her."

Lorelai sighed proudly. "Oh, those sacred words uttered by another." She turned to Rory. "If I had a dollar for every time I said that about my mother…"

"Liz." Luke said, walking around the counter to hug his sister. "What are you doing here?"

"It's great to see you too, big brother."

"Sorry." He paused for a second, then, "What are you doing here?"

"The last two weeks of the circuit got cancelled, so we came home early."

Jess looked wide-eyed at Lorelai. "Home?" He whispered harshly.

She smiled widely at him. "Guess who moved to Stars Hollow."

"Jess. My baby!" Liz said loudly.

Jess tensed and clenched his teeth.

Lorelai patted his hand. "It's okay. I don't think she saw you yet."

He glared at her then slowly turned around. "Liz."

She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly then stepped back to look him over. "Jess, you look great." She turned to Luke. "Doesn't he look great? All grown up?" She looked back at her son when Luke nodded. "Well, tell me what you've been up to? What are you doing back in Stars Hollow? How have you been?"

"I…uh…Luke and Lorelai are engaged."

"What?" She looked behind him at Lorelai and spotted the ring on her finger. "Oh my God!" She pushed past Jess and threw her arms around her. "Oh! I'm so excited. We're gonna be sisters-in-law!"

"Yay." She choked out as well as she could with Liz's arms so tight around her.

She squeezed her a little tighter then let go to hit Luke in the arm. "Why didn't you tell me you were engaged?"

"Because…it just happened…last night?"

"Ohhh. That's great. Really?"

"Umm, well…no."

"Luke!" She hit him again.

He shrugged. "You were at the Renaissance Faire thing. You didn't have your phone."

"Yes I did. I just don't use it at my booth. You knew that."

"But you yelled at me every time I called Lorelai. Even at night."

"No I didn't. That was TJ." She told him. "He doesn't believe in using modern technology when we're on the Faire circuit." She added in explanation to Lorelai.

Luke looked over at his fiancé. "That does include the shower, in case you were wondering."

Liz shoved him playfully. "Oh, that's not true. I wouldn't let him in the tent if he didn't shower."

"Where is TJ?" Luke asked.

"I dropped him off at home before I came over." She waved it off flippantly. "Now, come on. I wanna catch up with my guys."

When Jess shot Luke a desperate look, he sighed and turned to his sister. "Actually, I need to go cook…in the kitchen, and Jess needs to get back to work. But why don't you sit here with Lorelai and Rory, and…" That's when he noticed Rory looking kind of panicked. "Are you okay?"

"Me?" She asked weakly.

Lorelai looked over at her and frowned. "You look little pale, hon. Are you feeling okay?"

"Yea. Yea, I'm fine…I just…can I…talk…to you…over there?" She gestured to the curtain in front of the stairs.

"Sure." She looked uncertain as she stood up. "We'll be right back." She announced, pulling Rory behind the curtain.

"That's Jess's mom!" Rory said loudly, as soon as the curtain fell shut behind them.

"Okay, the curtain – not sound proof." She started pushing her up the stairs. "So why don't you save you nervous breakdown for inside the apartment."

"Ugh." Rory threw the apartment door open and marched inside.

Lorelai followed her inside and quietly shut the door. "Okay, Mariah, spill."

"Jess's mother is downstairs."

"I did notice that when she was strangling me."

"But it's his _mother_. The woman who gave birth to him."

"Is that what a mother is? Cause after all those hours of labor I wasn't sure."

"Mom." She growled.

"Ohhh." She said in realization. "You never met her before."

"No, I never met her before!"

Lorelai laughed. "You're all nervous about meeting your boyfriend's mom."

"What if she hates me?"

"She won't hate you. You're too pretty to hate. I take all the credit for that, by the way."

Rory ignored her and started pacing in front of the couch. "What if she starts calling me Big Sally, and then Jess has to die before we figure out his cross dressing isn't our fault and he wants to be buried in lingerie and the priest thinks it's all a big joke?"

"Well, at least he won't charge you for the ceremony."

She stopped and looked at Lorelai. "Are you under some impression that you're helping?"

She held up her hands in surrender. "Sorry." She walked to phone and dialed the number for the diner.

"Luke's." Luke answered the phone.

"Can you send Jess upstairs?"

"Lorelai? Why can't you just walk…never mind. I'll send him up."

"Tell him to bring coffee."

"Bye, Lorelai."

She hung up and turned to Rory. "Jess is coming up here."

"Really?" She said sarcastically.

"Well, he's more recently been acquainted with the 'meeting the parents' fear, so I figure he could help. Grandparents in his case, but you know what I mean."

"I think he deals with that every day when you walk into the diner."

She let out a mock gasp. "Why are you so mean to Mama?"

Both heads turned towards the door when Jess walked into the apartment. "Hey. Luke said you needed me."

"You didn't bring coffee." Lorelai pouted.

"I'm sorry, did you mistake me for you? I don't carry coffee around everywhere I go."

"I told Luke to send you up here with coffee."

"_That's_ why I'm up here?"

"Of course. And Rory's having a nervous breakdown."

He looked at his girlfriend, concerned. "What? Why?"

"She's afraid of meeting your mother."

He gestured to the door. "But she was just down there…in the diner."

"But she didn't _officially_ meet her…as the girlfriend."

His expression turned amused. "You're afraid of my mother?"

"No!" Rory said forcefully then flopped onto the couch. "A little. I didn't see you doing cartwheels over meeting my grandparents."

"She thinks Liz is gonna start calling her Big Sally and then you're gonna get buried in lingerie." Lorelai explained.

Jess furrowed his eyebrows. "What the hell does that mean?"

"She thinks Liz is going to hate her."

He walked to the couch and sat next to her. "Why would she hate you?"

"Okay." Lorelai said. "I'm gonna go get some coffee. So…bye." She nodded and walked out of the apartment.

Jess looked expectantly at his girlfriend. "Rory."

"What? Not everybody likes me."

"Name one person."

"My dad's parents don't like me."

"Name one person that _knows_ you and doesn't like you."

"Well, there's…umm…Okay, that is sooo not the point."

He smiled and pulled her onto his lap. "What is the point, Ror?"

"You're mom is not everyone else."

He kissed her temple and tightened his arms around her waist. "She's gonna love you, Rory."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

She smiled widely at him. "Then let's go meet your mom."

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Emily marched into her husband's study, waving around a piece of paper. "Richard Gilmore." She said angrily.

He put down the newspaper he was reading and gave her his full attention. "Yes, Emily?"

"Why in God's name are we giving something called _Hep Alien _three-thousand dollars?"

"Hep Alien is the name of a band. Rory's friend, Lane, is the drummer. They will be playing at Lorelai and Luke's wedding reception. They offered to play for free, but they are performing a service and deserve to be paid for it."

"You're condoning her marrying that _diner owner_!" She spat the last two words.

"If Lorelai wants to marry Luke, that is her decision. He may not be what we always dreamed of for her, but he makes her happy."

"I don't believe you, Richard! That man is no good for her."

"She loves him, Emily. She came into our bedroom in the middle of the night and announced it. I have never heard her say she loved a man, not even Christopher. And if my only daughter wants to marry the man she loves, then I am damn well going to give them my blessing."

Emily didn't know what to say to that so she just turned on her heel and marched out the door. "I'm going to bed." She threw over her shoulder as she walked away.

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Richard walked quietly into his bedroom, knowing his wife was already asleep. He paused in the middle of the room when he noticed Emily laying on top of the covers, still dressed in her pantsuit. "Emily." He whispered. When she didn't answer, he walked over to the bed and smiled down at her sleeping form. In her lap was a photo album full of pictures of a very young Lorelai, and next to that was the tiara Emily wore on their wedding day. He looked around for the box it went it when his eyes landed on a new, sparkling tiara sitting on the nightstand. Next to it was a note.

_Lorelai,_

_I want you to look perfect on your wedding day._

_Congratulations._

_Mom._


	24. Always Crashing in the Same Car

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

**A/N: I am sooo sorry that I haven't updated in a while. I've been pretty busy the last few weeks, and haven't really had a chance to write. Again, so sorry, and I promise not to let so much time go by between updates. And, if it makes you feel better, this is one of my longer chapters.**

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Luke walked down the stairs letting out a yawn as he stopped on the bottom step. He smiled when he saw Lorelai and Jess attempting to waltz while Rory slept on the couch. He watched them for a few minutes before stepping into the living room. "Hey." He said softly, causing Jess to jump away from Lorelai like she was on fire. "What are you doing?" He laughed.

"Nothing." Jess said quickly.

"I'm teaching Jess how to dance." Lorelai explained.

"It's three o'clock in the morning."

"I know."

"You got up at three in the morning to teach Jess how to dance?"

"Well, how would it look if the best man at our wedding didn't know how to dance?"

"The wedding isn't until July."

"And…?"

"And it's not even May yet."

"And…?

He shook his head. "Never mind. I'm going back to bed."

"No!" Lorelai said loudly, grabbing his hand. "Dance with me."

"Lorelai…"

"Please." She pouted. "Jess sucks. And Rory fell asleep like an hour ago."

He groaned and let her pull him towards her. "Fine. One dance. Then we're all going back to bed."

"Yay." She put her left hand on his shoulder while he slid his right to her waist. "Jess, music."

He walked to the CD player and set the soft waltz back to the beginning then sat on the coffee table to watch them dance.

They danced around the room easily, Lorelai telling Jess the steps as they went. About half way through the song, Luke twirled Lorelai – as per her request – and she kicked the side of the couch, waking up Rory, before spinning back towards him.

"Mom." Rory whined, rubbing her eyes. "I was sleeping."

"Dance with Jess." Lorelai said. "He needs to practice."

She let out a yawn and stood up. "But Jess sucks."

"That's why he needs to practice."

"But I don't wanna."

"I'm taking medicine for the leprosy if it makes you feel better." Jess said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry." She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning most of her weight on him. "I'm just tired."

"I know." He kissed her forehead and put his arms around her waist.

"What are you doing?" Lorelai asked when Rory put her head on Jess's shoulder.

"Sleeping?" Rory offered.

She stepped away from Luke and put some space between Rory and Jess's bodies. "See, this is your dance space…" She said to Jess then turned to Rory. "…and this is your dance space. Stay in your own dance space. And no sleeping." She added when Rory's eyes started drifting shut again. She watched them closely as she walked back towards Luke. "Okay. Watch us." She and Luke got back into their dancing position. "Step one, two…"

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Rory rolled over sleepily, her body coming in contact with something soft and warm. She squinted an eye open and smiled at Jess's sleeping form, remembering the events of last night. They had all danced until four o'clock and watched part of one of the ballroom dancing tapes Lorelai stole from her parents house, before Rory and Jess fell asleep on the living room floor, Luke and Lorelai on the couch. She kissed his shoulder softly before sitting up and rubbing her neck, sore from sleeping on the hardwood floor. She grabbed her phone off the coffee table to check the time and immediately jumped up. "Mom! Luke!" She shook her mother awake, waving the phone in front of her.

"What?" Lorelai groaned, sitting up a little. She grabbed the phone to get it away from her face. "What are you doing?"

"It's eleven-thirty!"

"Ugh." She dropped her head back onto Luke's chest. "So?"

"Shit!" Luke said, sitting up quickly, knocking Lorelai off the couch, onto Jess.

"Agh!" Jess groaned in pain when Lorelai landed on his ribs. "Why the hell are you sitting on me?"

Luke stood up and pulled Lorelai to her feet. "We're supposed to meet you father for lunch in a half an hour!"

"Oh my God! I need to take a shower."

"So do I."

"We'll you're not doing it together." Rory said. "You'll never get out of here."

"I call upstairs!" Lorelai jumped up, waving her hand in the air.

Luke nodded. "I guess I'm downstairs then."

"And I'm going to the diner." Jess said as Lorelai and Luke made their way to their respective bathrooms.

"Why?" Rory asked.

"I have a job interview at one o'clock."

"Really?" She said happily. "Where?"

"At a publishing house in New Haven. The pay wouldn't be great, but I can't afford the club on what I'm getting paid at Luke's."

"Maybe you could ask my-"

"No." He stopped her.

"What?"

"I know what you're gonna say, Rory. And it's not gonna happen."

"But they-"

"No."

"God, you _are_ worse than my mother."

He sat down on the couch. "Rory, I can't ask your family for money. Just…I'll figure it out. Trust me."

She let herself fall onto his lap. "I know. I just want this to work."

"It will."

She pressed her lips against his in a chaste kiss. "So, I'm moving out of my dorm in two months. You ready for the full time Gilmore girl experience?"

"If Luke can handle living with Lorelai, I think I'll manage."

"You're very funny." She smiled as she slid her arms around his neck and rested her forehead against his. "Please don't go."

He let out a quiet laugh. "Didn't we just talk about this?"

"Yea. But I haven't had you all to myself since last week." She pouted.

"You're the one who wanted to spend the day with Liz yesterday."

"Hey, mister." She poked him in the chest. "Don't even try to pretend you didn't have fun."

"Oh, yea." He said sarcastically. "Watching you and Liz go through my baby pictures thrills me to no end."

"I can't believe Luke's had those pictures stashed in the apartment all these years and I never saw them."

"Oh, believe me, a good amount of money went into keeping them away from you and Lorelai."

They both looked over when Luke ran out of the bathroom, passing Lorelai on the stairs as she ran down to the kitchen. "Huh." Jess said.

"Yea." Rory agreed.

They watched for another couple minutes as Luke and Lorelai both ran back to the living room, meeting at the bottom of the stairs. "Time! Time!" Lorelai said loudly, leaning on Luke as she slipped a pair of Rory's shoes on.

"Uh, eleven fifty-two." Luke told her.

"Oh, oh!" She started pushing him towards the door. "Out, out."

He stopped in his tracks and looked at her. "Why are you saying everything twice?"

"Don't know, don't know." She started pushing him again. "We're gonna be late. We're gonna be late."

"Stop it."

"No. No." She smirked at his back as she shoved him out the front door, pulling it shut behind her.

Jess turned back to Rory when they heard the door close. "I think Luke was on something when he agreed to marry her."

She nodded. "Yea, yea." She smiled widely at him and hopped off his lap. "Now," She said, walking around to the back of the couch and leaning down to whisper in his ear. "I'm gonna go upstairs to take a shower, but since it would be mean to subject you to not nearly as nice downstairs bathroom, I wouldn't say no to some…company."

He barely caught the last word as she disappeared from behind him and ran up the stairs.

He smirked as he jumped off the couch and ran after her.

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Lorelai ran into the restaurant, dragging Luke behind her, not bothering to stop to let the hostess seat them. "Dad." She said loudly when she saw Richard sitting at one of the tables. "I'm so sorry we're late. We were all up late and then we fell asleep in the living room, so we didn't get up until eleven-thirty and we had to shower and get dressed and it's a thirty minute drive to get here, so…sorry."

He stood up and hugged his daughter then shook Luke's hand before sitting back down. "I actually didn't expect you until one." He said to Lorelai. "I know how you always like to be fashionably late."

She and Luke sat down across from him. "Ooh, so really, we're early." She said happily.

"No." Luke said. "We're just less late than expected."

"Which would make us _early_."

He held his hands up in surrender. "Alright, you win."

She smiled and patted his knee. "You're learning."

He grabbed the hand that was on his knee and laced their fingers together then turned his attention to Richard, who looked really amused. "So, we should probably talk about the wedding."

Richard looked to his left and caught the attention of the waiter before looking back at Lorelai and Luke. "Why don't we eat first, then we'll talk."

Lorelai looked thrilled. "That's the best thing I heard all day. Well, except when Rory said something about me and Luke showering-" She was cut off when Luke clapped a hand over her mouth. "-ourselves with…gifts." She finished when Luke lowered his hand. "Cause you know how much I love presents. Lorelai Gilmore never says no to a present. Or shopping. I love shopping. And gifts. So showering ourselves with gifts would mean presents and…shopping. Yea."

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"In the shower?" Lane asked giddily, looking at Rory over the plate of cheese fries they were sharing at the diner.

"Yea." She smiled. "And then-"

"And then!"

Rory laughed. "Shh. My mom would kill me if she found out."

Lane lowered her voice. "Lorelai doesn't know you and Jess are…"

"Of course she knows. Isn't she the one who told you?"

"Oh, yea." She nodded. "So why would she kill you?"

"Because she can't be trusted with any information. If she found out then she'd have to tell Luke because she has no self-control, and he wouldn't be able to look me in the eye ever again. And then he would go in the bathroom one morning to take a shower and remember what happened in there, so he would never be able shower in there again, which would mean he'd have to start showering in the apartment, but-"

"-but Jess is living in the apartment, so he couldn't shower there."

"Yep. And then he'd have to go to Liz and TJ's, which would traumatize him to much for him to ever want to have sex again."

"Lorelai's life is very complicated."

"Only by fault of her own."

"Excuse me. Miss." A customer called to Lane. "I'm ready to order."

"I got it! I got it!" An apron clad Zach ran out of the kitchen with order pad in hand.

Lane threw a "Thanks Zach" over her shoulder as she turned back to her conversation with Rory.

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"Hey, Michel." Rory said as she stopped at the front desk. "Do you know where Mom is?"

He looked around the desk before giving her a mock apologetic look. "Oh, I'm sorry. I seem to have left my tracking device at home."

"Okay. I'll just go…" She gestured to the kitchen door. "…check the kitchen."

"Ohh. Wonderful." He gave her an obviously fake smile. "Please tell me if you find her. I've been so worried."

"Thanks, Michel." She made her way to the kitchen and pushed the door open. "Hello?" She called when she didn't see anyone inside. "Mom? Sookie?" She walked around the counter to the open back door.

Lorelai, Sookie, and the kitchen staff were all standing outside looking at something on the ground.

"Hey." She stopped between Lorelai and Sookie. "What are we looking at?"

Lorelai shifted her eyes from the burnt mess on the ground to her daughter's face. "Sookie killed Manny-"

"What!"

"Jeez. Let me finish a sentence. Sookie killed Manny's pants."

Rory raised her eyebrows and turned to Sookie. "You set his pants on fire?"

Lorelai giggled. "Dirty."

Rory rolled her eyes. "Are you twelve?"

"Yes."

"Ooh." Sookie jumped suddenly. "Dinner. I need to go finish dinner." She ran back inside, the rest of the staff following hesitantly.

"Hey." Lorelai grabbed one of the chefs on his way by. "Keep her away from all things fire-y." He nodded and went back into inn.

"So…" Rory said. "How'd it go with Grandpa?"

"It went great." She paused. "Wow, I can't believe I just said 'great' in reference to one of my parents." She shook her head. "Anyway, since Luke and I don't have a wedding photographer, Dad's gonna get the one that did his and Mom's vow renewal thingy."

"Kirk's gonna be upset."

"But he has a girlfriend now, so we didn't think he'd wanna do it."

"Just promise that if he starts crying, you'll let him take pictures."

"I promise."

Rory smiled. "Good. So what else did Grandpa say?"

"Right. So, he's gonna buy all the fabric for my dress and yours and Sookie's dresses. Uh, he's setting up a fitting with his tux guy for Luke, Jess, and Jackson. He refuses to deal with the florist so I have to call them, and just send him the bill. And he says I have to pick out invitations sometime _before_ the wedding."

"Oh my God." Rory said sarcastically. "The demands he put on you."

"I know. It's awful." She put her arm around Rory's shoulder as they started walking around to the front of the inn. "So, where's the other half?"

"New Haven. He had a job interview at one o'clock."

"He's still there? It's like four-thirty."

She shrugged. "Maybe he had something to do afterwards."

"Maybe he hopped a bus to California."

"Mom!" She stepped away from Lorelai.

"What? You can't tell me you're not thinking that too."

"I shouldn't be!"

"But you are." She said softly.

Rory sat on the front porch and put her head in her hands. "I'm the worst girlfriend ever."

Lorelai sat next to her. "Hon, you know that's not true."

"Yes it is. He bought a club and an apartment. And he asked me to move in with him at the end of the semester. And he had dinner with Grandma and Grandpa _and_ Kirk. At the same time. And he let you teach him how to dance in the middle of the night. But I still can't get over this fear that when he leaves, he's never gonna come back." She cried.

"It's okay to feel like that. You know it's gonna take more than a couple months to trust him again. And he knows that too. He broke you."

"Mom…"

"I'm not talking about the accident."

"Oh." She looked down at her hands in her lap. "I think I broke him a little bit too."

"Yea?" Lorelai never told Rory that she knew about what happened at her dorm.

She looked up at her mother. "I think I broke him a lot."

She put her arm around her daughter and kissed her hair. "You wanna know a secret?" She whispered.

Rory put her head on Lorelai's shoulder. "Yea."

"Luke almost left."

She sat up quickly. "What? When?"

"The night we got engaged. He had a suitcase packed and everything."

"Why?"

"He thought I wanted more than him. It appears, my darling, that we are more intimidating than we thought." She shifted to humor mode in hopes that Rory wouldn't ask what made Luke think he wasn't enough. It didn't work.

"Luke just suddenly decided you wanted more? He was fine that morning."

"Well, he didn't exactly come to that conclusion on his own."

"Huh?"

"Apparently, Dean said-"

"Dean?"

"Yea."

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Rory walked all over town before spotting her ex-boyfriend through the window at Doose's. She marched inside the market and made her way over to him. "Dean."

He looked up at her and smiled. "Rory. Hey. I was-"

Rory slapped him – hard – cutting him off. "How dare you!"

His hand went to his cheek. "What-"

"You can pass judgment on my relationship with Jess all you want. I don't give a damn! But you will stay the hell away from my mom and Luke. Stay away from their house. Stay away from the diner. Stay away from the inn. And I swear to God, if you ever pull what you did with Luke again, I will make sure you are run out of this town before you can blink." She shot him one more seething glare before turning on her heel and marching back outside.

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Rory threw herself at Jess as soon as he walked into the apartment. After the thing with Dean, she immediately went over to the diner and hugged Luke, then went upstairs and read. She was barely through the first chapter when Jess got there.

"Hey." He said, wrapping his arms around her. "You okay?"

"I love you."

He was starting to get worried. "Did something happen?"

"Bad day." She said into his chest then looked up at him. "Well, hour."

He walked them over to the couch and sat down. "What happened?"

"I went to the inn and me and Mom were talking about you 'cause I'm a horrible girlfriend…" He wanted to know what she was talking about, but he knew better than to interrupt a Gilmore when she was upset. "…and Luke almost skipped town the night him and Mom got engaged because of Dean and I found him at Doose's and I yelled at him and slapped him and I missed you."

"Huh."

She closed her eyes and leaned against his chest. "Yea."

"You slapped Dean."

"He told Luke he wasn't good enough for Mom."

"He did what!"

"That was my reaction."

"I hate that guy."

"I know." She reached down to play with the end of his tie. "I like this."

"Yea?"

"Mmm. You look really nice." She smoothed down the tie then let her hand rest on his leg. "Jess?"

"Yea?" He said softly, playing with the ends of her hair.

She tapped her fingers nervously on his thigh. "I thought you weren't coming back."

"When?"

"Today. Everyday." She looked up at his face. "I think, in the back of my mind, there's always this fear that you're going to leave." She almost regretted telling him this when she saw the hurt in his eyes, but she knew they had to talk about it sometime.

"I didn't leave because of you."

"I know."

"Then I can live with that."

"But-"

"I never expected you to be over it, Ror. You have every right to feel that way."

"But you're not…" She said hesitantly.

"I'm not gonna take off."

She smiled and kissed his jaw. "Good. Cause I kinda like you." She settled herself against his side. "Now, tell me about your interview."


	25. Real Cool World

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

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"Hey, Sook." Lorelai greeted her best friend as she entered the kitchen at The Dragonfly.

"Hey." Sookie waved a wooden spoon in the direction of a package on the counter. "That came for you about an hour ago. Michel was being all snooty and French, so Kirk dropped it in here."

She picked up the coffee pot and filled a mug. "He's back on his mailman route already?"

"Yea. Ralph dislocated his shoulder a couple days ago."

"And…?" Lorelai said expectantly.

"And my doctor said my shoulder is fine." She mumbled sheepishly.

She nodded knowingly as she walked over to the counter where her package was. "There's no return address."

"Ooh." Sookie gasped. "Maybe it's a bomb."

She shrugged. "Probably."

"Well, open it."

"I say it's probably a bomb and you say open it?"

"Lorelai."

"Okay. I'm opening it." She grabbed a knife and cut open the tape then dumped the contents of the box onto the counter. A large velvet box fell out followed by a folded piece of paper.

"What is it?" Sookie asked.

"I don't know." Lorelai unfolded the paper, her eyes quickly filling with tears as she read the short note. She put it back on the counter and reached for the box. A large smile spread across her face when she opened the lid. "Oh my God."

"What?" Sookie asked, walking around the counter.

"She said congratulations."

"Who?"

"My mother."

Sookie picked up the box and looked at the tiara inside. "Why would your mother send you a tiara?"

"Because my head is too big for a veil." She smiled.

"Yay?" She questioned. When Lorelai nodded she said more enthusiastically, "Yay!"

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Rory groaned at the knock at the door. Jess wasn't supposed to be there for another half hour, and she was still getting dressed. "Uhh, just…it's open!" When she heard the door open and shut, she quickly put on her lipstick and pulled a low cut t-shirt over her head. "You know," She said suggestively, pulling her bedroom door open. "Paris is at Doyle's for the night, so the place is all-" She froze when she got to the living room. "Dad."

"Hey, kiddo." Christopher smirked at the blush spreading across her face.

"I…You're not…I thought you were someone else."

"Oh, thank God. For a minute I thought you killed you mother."

"What?"

"Oedipus. Killed his father, married his mother. I admit, not my best, but it was the first thing that came to mind."

"Oh, right." She shook her head. "Yea. So, what are you doing here?"

"Hey, I put on white gloves and tails for you. I think that entitles me to stop by without an explanation."

"I would have expected the 'I helped give you life' excuse."

"I always thought that was a little overused."

"So…"

"What?"

She raised an eyebrow and he sighed. "I desperately need a grown-up to talk to. As opposed to popular belief, Gigi is not a great conversationalist. Come on, we're going out. Coffee and burgers."

"I can't. I'm waiting for Jess."

"I'm not leaving so you can have sex with your boyfriend."

"Dad!"

"What, you think I don't know what's going on? I used to be twenty. Now, let's go. You can leave Jess a note."

"Fine." She relented. "Just let me get my jacket."

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Luke parked his truck behind Lorelai's car and started walking towards the house when a guy he recognized as a waiter from the inn ran out the front door like the house was on fire.

"Hey, Luke." He said as he ran across the lawn.

"Hi." Luke said, confused. He watched him run until he was out of sight then made his way up the porch steps and into the house. "Jesus." He said after he took off his coat. "It's freezing." He went to turn up the thermostat when Lorelai jumped in front of him.

"No. Don't turn it up."

"Lorelai, it's forty degrees in here."

"Oh, it's not that cold." She looked at the thermostat. "See it's forty-two."

He looked down at the short, low-cut black dress she had on, then back up at her face. "Why are you all dressed up?"

"Cause it's pretty." She said, fingering the hem.

He narrowed his eyes at her when he heard the back door open and close. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." She answered quickly,

"Really?" He started for the living room, but she blocked his path then grabbed his head to pull his lips down to hers.

He smiled as he pulled away, then turned her around and put his hands on her shoulders as he walked them both to the living room.

She closed her eyes and let out a sigh when they stopped. "Surprise?"

"Lorelai…" He breathed, looking around the room. All the furniture had been pushed to the side of the room and the kitchen table, with a partially set-up dinner on top of it, sat in front of the fireplace, which had a few small, pitiful flames just starting to burn.

"I wanted to do something nice." She said. "But since I can't cook, I called Sookie and she came over to make a really great dinner. I'm not sure what she made, but everything Sookie makes is amazing, so I didn't ask what it was. And I thought it would be nice to light a fire but it was too warm, so I turned down the thermostat, and it's been forty degrees in here for two hours – and I'm so cold – because all I have are those easy-light logs from the inn, and it turns out the reason I couldn't light it that time at the inn wasn't just because I was nervous, I'm just pathetic and can't light the damn things. And I called the kitchen at the inn and Ben answered so I made him come over here and light it for me, but then I heard your truck and I didn't want you to know I couldn't start a fire by myself, so I made him run out of the house but he went out the front door instead of the back. And everything is just all messed up."

He moved his hands off her shoulders to slide his arms around her waist. "It's perfect."

"Dinner's not even finished."

"It doesn't matter."

"Our electric bill is gonna be enough to make Warren Buffet cry like a little girl."

He smiled and turned her around. "Tell ya what, how about you go upstairs and put on something warmer, I'll go to the back porch and tell Sookie she can go home, and then we can put the furniture back and eat something that you have dump out of a bag and put in the oven."

Her eyes lit up at the thought of frozen food. "I'm gonna hold you to that mister."

"Alright. But tomorrow you're eating vegetables."

She gasped. "Cruel. Unusual."

"Go get changed."

She walked to the stairs but stopped half way up. "Just for that, we're having curly fries _and_ waffle fries." She announced before disappearing upstairs.

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"He's here." Rory said with a roll of her eyes when she saw Jess walk into the pub.

"Oh, great." Christopher said excitedly as he stood up. "I've always wanted to do this." He grinned and walked away from the table.

"You're twelve." Rory said, shaking her head. She looked back at Jess and saw him walking towards her table.

"Hey." He said, leaning down to kiss her. "I got your note." He sat in the chair next to her. "Why'd you want to meet here?"

"Oh, well-"

"Hey," Christopher put two mugs down on the table, his attention seemingly on Rory. "I forgot how you take your coffee so I just brought everything." Suddenly he looked over at Jess. "Oh, hey. I didn't know we had company."

Rory gave him a look that all but screamed 'you need help' then put on a fake smile. "Dad, this is Jess. Jess, this is my dad."

"Hey," He held his hand out for Jess to shake. "Rory's told me all about you. It's great to finally meet you."

"Yea," Jess said, taking his hand. "You too."

"Well, hey," He said. "Let me get you a drink." He started towards the bar then stopped and turned back to Jess. "On the other hand, maybe you should get it. I made a crack about Cheers. It didn't go over too well."

"Yea. I'll be right back."

Christopher watched him walk to the bar, then sat down next to Rory.

"You made a crack about Cheers?"

He grimaced a little. "Okay, seven."

"Did you call him Sam?"

"No…Yes."

"You know, I'm gonna need so much therapy when I'm older."

"Hey, that is at _least_ fifty percent your mother's fault."

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"Alright." Rory walked into the diner and set her laptop on the table next to her mother. "You are not putting it off anymore. It's been three weeks since you went to lunch with Grandpa and you haven't even thought about the invitations or calling the florist or-"

"Hello my gorgeous, gorgeous mother." Lorelai said. "Seeing you this fine morning has just brightened up my day. And I don't know how I went a whole five days without being in your glorious presence."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Well, I thought that was a much nicer greeting."

She rolled her eyes and sat down. "C'mon. We're working on wedding plans. Pick something."

"_Or_, you can tell me how dinner with Jess and Chris was."

"Mom…"

"It's been what, six days?"

"I was going to tell you."

"Why didn't you?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I just thought it would be better to keep the Dad part of my life separate from the rest of it. I just don't want him doing any more damage."

"Hon, just because your dad and I aren't on the best terms right now, it doesn't mean we can't talk about him. And you should know by now, that as your mother, I have the right to know about all the situations that could possibly be embarrassing for your boyfriend."

She smiled. "Jess spent a lot of time at the bar."

"Well, you can drive the best of us to drink." She joked.

Rory rolled her eyes. "He wasn't drinking. I think he wants the bartender to come work for him when the club opens."

"Really? Who is this guy, Brian Flanagan?"

"His name's Simon. And I don't think it was his bartending skills. Though, they were respectable."

"Was it his body?"

She shook her head. "He's very sarcastic. He matched Jess jab for jab. That apparently something he likes in a person."

"A point I'd have to agree with him on. And how was Chris's behavior?"

"Dad was at his finest last night. Well, other then the Cheers jokes."

She looked disappointed. "He didn't."

"I know. It's so below him."

"He called the bartender Sam, didn't he?"

"Four times."

"He's really losing his touch."

She shrugged. "They can't all have our quick wit."

Lorelai put her arm around her daughter. "We are a rare breed, my dear."


	26. God Knows I'm Good

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

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"Oh my God." Rory drew the words out then let a content smile settle on her face. "If I died right now, I would die a happy woman."

Jess looked down at her from where he was standing on the other side of the bed. "Well, I'd be a little upset. The owners of this place probably would be too. Profits are bound to go down if someone dies in your store."

She opened her eyes to look at him. "You should write that down."

"I think I can remember it."

She patted the space next to her on the bed. "Seriously, lay down. You have got to feel this. It's amazing. I want to live here."

He smiled then laid next to her on the mattress, letting out a contented sigh as stretched out. "Ohh, this is nice." He let his eyes drift closed for a second then looked over at her. "It's definitely coming home with us."

"Yay!" She rolled to her side and kissed him quickly before climbing off the bed. "I'm gonna go tell the guy which one we want."

"Okay." He closed his eyes again. "I'll be there in a minute."

He waited until he heard her soft murmurs on the other side of the store before reaching to the side of the bed to pick up the price tag. He stared at the numbers for a minute then dropped his arm to the side with a sigh.

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"Is this what I ordered?" Kirk asked, pointing at his plate.

Luke didn't even look from the tickets he was adding. "Yes, Kirk."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Kirk."

"I thought I ordered waffles."

"Those are waffles, Kirk."

He looked down at his breakfast. "Oh. Can I have some syrup?"

"There's syrup on your table, Kirk."

Satisfied, he picked up his plate and went back to his table.

Luke shook his head and turned to guy in front of him. "What can I get you?"

"Just a cup of coffee." Luke nodded and turned around to get the coffee pot. "Actually I'm looking for Jess Mariano."

"He's not here."

"Oh, do you know how soon he'll be back?"

"He's in Hartford." He set a mug of coffee in front of him. "He won't be back till Monday night."

"Okay," Both men looked towards the door at the sound of Lorelai's voice. "I have a proposition to make and I know you'll probably think I'm insane, of course that's not untrue, but bear with me. I haven't had any coffee today." She plopped down on her stool and smiled at Luke.

"Okay." He said hesitantly.

"How would you like to spend the weekend with my father?"

He stared at her for a minute. "Have you been drinking?"

"No. Well, a little last night. But I am completely sober right now."

He poured a cup of coffee and set it in front of her. "Drink that." He watched her take a sip then leaned on the counter. "What do you want to do this weekend?"

She rolled her eyes. "Luke."

"I'm just checking. So do you want to fill me in on how you decided spending two days with your father would be a good idea?"

"Okay, so you know how I went to my parents' house for dinner last night?"

"Yea."

"Well, they found out about Jess's club. Don't ask me how. I think my mother has a crystal ball hidden somewhere, or a big cauldron or something. But anyway, when they figured out that Rory would be moving there when school gets out they decided it was their responsibility to furnish the apartment. So this morning my dad called and he wants us to go shopping with him, and then tomorrow and Monday, we're gonna set all the furniture up. What do you think?"

"I think your parents are really overcompensating."

"Who cares? Let them overcompensate. It means we get free stuff. So are you in?"

"I can't. I have to work. I can't get someone in here on such short notice."

"I can do it."

Lorelai turned to her right. "Who the hell are you?"

"Oh," Luke said. "This is Jess's…" He trailed off, not knowing how to finish.

"Future bartender." He supplied, holding his hand out to Lorelai. "Simon Wells."

She shook his hand. "Lorelai Gilmore." She turned to Luke. "Simon can cover for you."

He was hesitant. "I don't know. I don't even know his qualifications…"

She looked at Simon, "Can you flip a burger?"

"I did nine weeks at the Culinary Institute of America."

"So you can flip a burger?"

"Yes."

She turned back to Luke. "Simon can cover for you."

He sighed. "Fine."

She smiled happily. "Great. And, Luke, it's safer this way. Because if Jess found out you let me pick out all the furniture in his apartment, he would _kill _you."

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"Jess." Rory sang, turning in her seat to face him.

He looked at her for a second then shifted his eyes back to the road.

She took that as a sign to continue. "You're pretty."

He grinned knowingly. "What do you want?"

She brought her hand to her chest in mock insult. "Am I not allowed to compliment my boyfriend without motive?"

He laughed. "No."

"Well, we can't go back to Stars Hollow tonight."

"Why not?"

"We have to meet Jackson in an hour and a half for your tuxedo fittings."

He pulled the car onto the side of the road and shifted it into park. "Excuse me?"

"Well, the tuxedo place is in Hartford and I thought that since we were gonna be here you guys could go today."

He groaned. "What about Luke?"

"Grandpa's taking him for his tux next week."

He realized something and narrowed his eyes at her. "That still doesn't explain why we can't go back to Stars Hollow."

"I'm working up to it. It's suspenseful."

"Rory…"

She cringed then took a deep breath. "After your fitting we're having dinner with my grandmother. And we're kind of spending the night there."

"Huh." He said, staring out the front windshield.

"Ohh," She reached out to take his hand. "Don't do that."

"What?"

"Go all monosyllabic on me."

"I'm not."

"Every word you have said since I told you has been one syllable."

"Antidisestablishmentarianism."

She smiled. "Funny."

He squeezed her hand once then let go to reach for the gear shift. "So what do you want to do for an hour?"

Her jaw dropped. "You're not gonna try to get out of it?"

"No."

This time it was her eyes that narrowed. "Who are you and what have you done with Jess Mariano?"

"Hey, I'm on to you Gilmore. You just want me to think I have a chance to get out of it, but we both know in the end, no matter how much arguing I do, I'll be going to your grandparents' house."

She smiled. "I have you wrapped around my little finger." She held up her pinkie to emphasize her point.

"Lorelai would be so proud."

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"Lane. Psst. Lane." A loud whisper drifted across the diner.

She raised her eyebrows and walked over to the table Babette, Miss Patty, Taylor, and Kirk were sitting at. "Yea?" She whispered back, leaning down a little so they could hear her.

"Honey, who is that gorgeous man behind the counter?" Patty asked.

"Looking for another husband, Patty?" Babette asked.

"Always, dear."

Lane stood back up, realizing what this was about and rolled her eyes. "That's Simon. He's helping out because Luke had to go out of town."

"Is he living in town?" Taylor asked. "No one told me someone had moved into town."

"He doesn't live here Taylor. He's just helping out Luke."

"He makes good grilled cheese. Way better than Luke's." Kirk told them.

"He's got a nice butt." Babette added.

Lane nodded. "Okay. Well, I have to get back to work. You guys enjoy your oogling." She had to stop on her way back to the counter and shake her head when she heard Kirk say "You're right. He does have a nice butt."

"Do you think they know everyone in the place can hear them?" Simon asked, leaning against the back counter.

Lane shrugged. "Subtle has never been their forte. Though I have to give Taylor credit for his checkout. Very covert."

"Well, this ass is recommended by three out of four diner patrons."

"Don't get too excited. It's very rare that Babette or Miss Patty see an ass they don't like. And, well, Kirk is Kirk."

He stood up straight and headed for the kitchen upon seeing a few customers walk in. "You just wait. By the end of the day, they'll all want a piece of this."

She just laughed as she made her way to the recently occupied table to get drink orders.

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Jess was surprised when Emily had put him and Rory in the same room for the night. He figured she want them as far away from each other as possible. But he pushed it to the back of his mind when he saw Rory was dead asleep.

He climbed out of bed, making sure to grab his cell phone off the nightstand then quietly made his way to the adjoining bathroom. He scrolled through his address book, skipping past the numbers Rory had added, before finding the one he was looking for.

He made sure the door was locked then sat on the edge of the tub and hit send. The phone rang a few times before someone picked up.

"Hey, uh, Jimmy. It's me."


	27. Dead Against It

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

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"Rory, pull!" When he didn't get an answer he leaned his head against the mattress in front of him. "Look, I know it's heavy, but there's only a few more steps!" Still no response. "Ror, I can't hold this here forever!" Nothing. "Rory!" Finally he put his shoulder against the mattress and pushed as hard as he could, stumbling up the last few steps as the mattress slid into the apartment. "Ror, what are you do-" He stopped abruptly when he saw the reason Rory wasn't helping. She was frozen in the middle of the apartment staring at…everything. The place was completely furnished. From the newly installed ceiling fans, to the matching couch and loveseat, to the pictures covering almost every wall.

"Wow." She breathed, turning in a slow circle so she could see everything.

A loud crash had her spinning around to face Jess. He was standing in the doorway looking at the mattress that had fallen over taking a floor lamp with it. "Oops."

"Jess! We've been here for two minutes and you're already breaking stuff."

"I said oops."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, well then."

He gestured around the apartment. "Someone broke into my apartment and decorated it."

She looked around carefully then turned back to him. "It was my mom, Luke, and…my grandfather. There's a couple little things that were other people, but it was mostly them."

He tilted his head and looked at her. "How do you know that?"

"Well, I've lived with my mother for twenty years, Luke's tastes are very distinctive, and my grandparents had me and my mom go around their entire house and put post-its on everything we wanted when they died, so I've seen the kind of things they like." She leaned over and picked up a piece of paper from the coffee table. "Also, my mom left a note."

He grinned and shook his head, lifting his end of the mattress. "Can we just get this into the bedroom? Then we'll deal with this."

"Fine." She sighed overdramatically, picking up her end.

He smiled gratefully as they started for the bedroom, but realized he reacted too soon, as she dropped the mattress after taking two steps into the room. "Ror?"

"Oh my God." She quickly rushed out of the room and into the bathroom…then the guestroom…then the kitchen. She finally stopped back in the living room and let her jaw drop. "They did every room. I mean the bathroom has all my soap and lotion and everything. _And_, there is food in the kitchen."

He let go of the mattress, finally giving up on ever getting it into the bedroom.

"I am so staying here tonight." She said happily.

He crossed his arms across his chest and leaned against the doorjamb. "Well, you'll be by yourself because I promised Luke I'd be back in Stars Hollow tonight."

"Whatever." She shrugged, heading back to the kitchen to find something to eat.

"Whatever?" He repeated, following her.

She shrugged. "Yea. I mean, the fridge is stocked, the TV is right over there, the bookcase is packed. I can't think of any reason I'd need you to stick around."

"Really?" He said, advancing on her.

She couldn't hold back her grin when she found herself backed against the refrigerator. "Not unless you know something I don't."

He leaned in, letting his lips brush lightly against her ear before speaking. "If you come pick up your end of the mattress, I'll show you something you need me for." With that, he stepped away and walked back to the bedroom doorway.

She rolled her eyes, but followed him. She lifted her end of the mattress, _again_. They carried it into the bedroom and Rory unceremoniously let her end fall onto the box spring. Jess put his side down gently then moved to the foot of the bed to straighten it out. Once he was satisfied that it was straight, he stood up and walked to the door. "Alright, I'm gonna get going. You can handle the sheets?"

"Whoa." She ran out to the living room and jumped in front of him. "Where the hell are you going?"

"Stars Hollow."

"Now?"

"Yea. I mean, we moved the mattress, so what else would you need me for?"

She smacked his arm. "You're an ass."

He smirked at her. "What'd you think I was sticking around for?"

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Lorelai sat down at the counter and held out a stack of envelopes to Luke. "Here. Kirk keeps dropping the diner's mail at my house."

He took the pile from her and looked through a few of them before pausing. "Half of these are addressed to you."

"Yea." She shrugged. "I got tired of sorting them, so I just left them there."

"So I could sort them." He added knowingly.

She smiled. "Ahh, smart and sexy. I knew there was a reason I liked you."

"Kirk and Ralph sort your mail. Does that put me on the same level as them?"

"Oh, not even close. I mean Kirk's IQ would put _Paris _to shame. Mmm, and the way Ralph's legs look in those shorts he wears in the summer…Heaven." She tilted her head to imagine it.

"Stop."

"Why?" She asked innocently.

"Because I can't get Ralph's legs out of my head, and it's creeping me out."

She smiled widely. "You're so easy."

He shook his head and went back to the mail, tossing every couple letters onto the counter. He stopped when he got to one addressed to Jess and frowned at the handwriting. It looked familiar but he couldn't place it and there was no return address. He shook his head and went to put it at the back of the pile when the postage stamp caught his eye. Venice Beach. California. Jimmy. Damn it.

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Jess's eyes immediately went to the clock as he walked into the diner. _3:24. _He yawned and cursed Lorelai for passing on her pout to her daughter. Rory had convinced him to stay for dinner and to watch two of the longest movies he had ever seen. Then she pouted until he agreed to stay with her until she fell asleep.

He cursed Lorelai one more time for good measure then made his way upstairs. He pushed the door open quietly and looked over to Luke's bed. He wasn't there. He sighed in relief and flipped the lights on. "Thank God I don't have work tomorrow" He said to the empty apartment as he opened the fridge and pulled out a beer. He took a sip then put it down when he saw an envelope with his name on it on the table. He picked it up and smiled at his father's handwriting.

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Lorelai and Rory sat at the counter watching Luke and Jess move around the diner, not even talking to each other.

"So," Lorelai whispered to her daughter. "When did they turn into me and Emily?"

"I don't know." She answered.

"Seriously, I don't think either of them has said one nice thing to the other all day."

She nodded. "Especially since they stopped talking to each other about four hours ago."

"Four hours? How long have you been here?" She asked.

"Since this morning. I came in for breakfast and got a free show."

She grinned. "What do you think would happen if I asked for coffee?"

Rory rolled her eyes at her mother. "I wonder what happened."

"You didn't ask?"

"Yea," She said sarcastically. "I wanna get in the middle of that."

Lorelai frowned. "Well, I can't take much more of Paris and Nicole here."

"Fine. You take Paris and I'll take Nicole."

Lorelai walked around the counter to grab the back of Luke's shirt and push him into the storage room.

"Lorelai, I don't have time for this."

He tried to get past her to leave, but she slammed the door shut and leaned against it, blocking his path. "What's going on?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, come on, Kirk's starting to hand out parkas at the door. Hell, Taylor was looking a little chilly on the other side of the window."

"He runs an ice cream shop." He shot back.

She rolled her eyes. "That's beside the point. I'm out there waiting for you to tell Jess he threw his life away getting pregnant at sixteen."

Luke sighed heavily and sat down on a crate. "He got a letter from Jimmy on Monday."

"Ohh," She said knowingly.

"What?"

"Someone's eyes are looking a little green."

He narrowed his eyes. "I am _not_ jealous."

"Hon, you really are."

"He's not leaving again." He said determinedly. "I'll handcuff him to that counter if I have to." He gestured to the door leading to the diner. "He's not going back to California."

She crouched down in front of him and took his hand in hers. "You know you can't keep him here if he wants to leave."

"Rory can. No one can resist that face. With the big eyes and that sad pout thing she learned from you."

"Luke…"

"I know." He sighed. "But he seems happy, right? Settled?"

"Honestly, I really don't think he's going anywhere."

He nodded. "Good." He let out a breath. "Good."

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Jess didn't even resist when Rory grabbed his arm and dragged him up the stairs to Luke's apartment. Or when she commanded him to sit on the couch.

"What's going on with you and Luke? You've been at each other's throats since I got here."

"I don't know."

"You've been fighting with Luke all day and you don't even know why?"

"He's been mad at me all week. I asked him about it on Tuesday but he wouldn't tell me why."

She sat down next to him. "Is he mad that you were late on Monday? I'll tell him it's my fault."

"He's never cared when I was late before."

They both looked up when the apartment door opened. "Hey." Lorelai smiled. "I talked to Luke."

"I have no idea what's going on." Jess told her.

She picked up the envelope Jimmy's letter came in off Jess's nightstand and dropped it on his lap. "That's what he's mad about."

"What is it?" Rory asked.

"It's a letter from Jimmy." Jess told her. "I called him the night we stayed at your grandparents' house. Why is Luke upset about this?" He asked Lorelai.

"Oh, oh." Rory said. "He's jealous."

"He's-" He cut himself off as he stood up and marched out of the apartment.

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"Here." Jess pulled the letter out of the envelope and thrust it at Luke.

Luke looked down at the letter then back up at Jess. "What?"

"Read it."

He took the paper out of Jess's hand. "What is this?"

"Read it." He repeated.

He sighed but did as he was told. He frowned as his eyes skimmed the words and his face turned red as he realized what he'd done.

"I needed money." Jess explained. "We both know I can't afford this club, and this job at the publishing house isn't exactly making me rich, so I called Jimmy. His business has been doing really well for the past couple years and he had some extra cash, so he sent it to me. That's why I have a letter from Jimmy. I don't have some secret pen pal father-son relationship with him. And I'm not running away. Alright?"

"Jess…"

"You've been more of a dad to me in the past few years than Jimmy has ever been, so stop being such an ass and stop acting like you have something to be jealous of."

Luke smiled and pulled Jess into a hug.

At the foot of the stairs, Lorelai put her arm around her daughter's shoulder and leaned her cheek against her head. "Life's good, huh, kid."

Rory's arm went around Lorelai's waist. "Yea it is."


	28. Good Morning Girl

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

**A/N: Sorry, this took so long to update, but I was on vacation, and then I had a family emergency.**

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Tiny giggles floated through the diner as Simon walked in with a tiny girl thrown over his shoulder.

When he got to the counter, he set her down with a loud, dramatic sigh. "Jesus, kid. You're getting almost too big for me to be lugging around like this.

"Am not." She said. "Mommy said so."

"Really?"

"Yep. And Mommy _always_ carries me."

"That's because mommies have superpowers. Whereas, I, as a man, do not. Ya know?"

She smiled brightly. "You're silly."

"She's not wrong." Jess said, leaning on the counter. "I'd whip out the thesaurus on that one, but she's got the right idea."

"Funny." Simon nodded a greeting. "Bec, this is my friend, Jess. The one that I told you about."

She held out her hand for him to shake. "Hi, I'm Rebecca and I'm five and a half years old."

"I'm Jess. I'm twenty-one and a quarter years old."

"Nice to meet you."

"Hey, Bec." Simon said. "See that guy over there?" He pointed to the end of the counter.

"The one with the smiley face pancakes?"

"Yea. His name is Kirk. And I bet he would love to hear about what you got for Easter."

Her eyes widened in excitement. "Really?"

"Yea. Go on over."

"Can I have smiley pancakes too?"

"Of course."

"Okay." She smiled and ran over to Kirk, climbing onto the stool next to him after she introduced herself.

"Cute kid." Jess said. "Is she yours?"

"My sister's. I've got her for the day so Mommy and Daddy can sleep while the new baby does."

"Is that what she got for Easter?"

He nodded. "New baby brother. Just what she's always wanted." He shrugged. "I give her two years before she regrets that."

"So what are you doing here?"

"Breakfast."

"You drove a half an hour to get breakfast?"

"Sarah, my sister, thought I should show Rebecca this 'Stars Hollow that Uncle Simon talks about so much'. She wanted to see it too, but sleep won out over traveling forty miles from home with a newborn."

"Hey." Luke wiped his hands on his jeans as he walked out of the kitchen. "You wanna run some food over to the inn?"

"I'll do it." Simon volunteered immediately.

Luke pointed at him. "No." Then to Jess. "You."

Simon frowned. "Hey, why not me?"

"You don't work here."

"So."

"So, you just want to see Lorelai."

He rolled his eyes and sighed. "I promise I'll stop hitting on her."

Luke narrowed his eyes, but relented. "Fine." He answered, and walked to the kitchen to get the food.

"Why do you want to go to the inn?" Jess asked when Luke was gone.

"Lorelai's pretty and Sookie gives me free scones. And that French guy hates me. It's great."

"He hates everyone."

Simon smiled then looked over at where his niece and Kirk were having an animated conversation. "Is it alright if she stays here while I run the food over?"

"Oh, yea. Luke loves kids."

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"Gilmore!"

Rory stopped in the doorway of the Yale Daily News office and let out a groan. She spun on her heel raised her eyebrows. "Paris, it's Thursday night, I don't have any classes tomorrow, and I just want to go home. Can this please wait until Monday?"

Paris waved a sheet of paper in Rory's face. "Look at this!"

She moved her head from side to side, in an attempt to keep her eyes on the paper. "I'm trying." Finally she grabbed it out of her friend's hand and looked it over. "What is this?"

"It's sad is what it is." She took the paper back and pointed to the first name on the list. "Damons has more than either of us."

"More what? What is that a list of?"

"Bylines! I counted up the number of bylines everyone has had up until now. And let me tell you, I am not happy with the results."

"Bylines…" Rory said distractedly as she dropped her jacket and purse onto the chair next to her. "Bylines…" She moved around her desk and leaned over the computer. "Bylines…Bylines, bylines, bylines…" She repeated as she typed. "Yes." She gave a quiet squeal of excitement as she jotted something down.

"Hey, Rainman," Paris said. "What the hell are you doing?"

She folded up the paper she was writing on and grabbed her purse and jacket. "Paris, this is perfect." She hugged her friend, yelled goodbye to Doyle, and walked out the door.

"You better not come back here with a bunch of Judge Wapner stories!" Paris yelled at her retreating form.

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"Oh, wonderful." Michel said as Simon set the Luke's bag on the desk. "You are here. My day is now complete."

Simon smiled. "Great to see you too, Michel. I missed ya, buddy."

He glared. "Do not speak to me."

He folded his arms and leaned on the desk. "So, is Lorelai around?"

Michel ignored him and went back to work.

"Ya know, the sooner you tell me, the sooner I'll leave."

He muttered a few French words that Simon assumed were curses then said, "Lorelai is in the kitchen."

He picked up the bag and gave Michel and wide smile. "Thank you."

"Simon!" Sookie said happily as soon as he walked through the kitchen doors.

"Wow. You're almost as happy as Michel was to see me." He set the food on the counter and started unpacking the containers.

She laughed. "How're you doing, sweetie?"

"Pretty good. I've got my niece for the day, so I thought I'd show her the town."

"Really? I didn't know you had a niece. Is she here?"

He shook his head. "She at the diner having smiley face pancakes with Kirk."

"Ohh, you should bring her by later, I'm making cookies."

"Definitely."

She held up and wooden spoon and beckoned him over. "Taste this."

He took a sip of the soup and groaned. "That is frickin' amazing. What is it?"

"It's Jackson's new triple hybrid squash."

He finished off what was left on the spoon and let out another groan. "God. I want to fill my tub with this stuff and just sit there on the bathroom floor with a spoon and one of those plastic bibs they give you when you eat lobster, so anything I spill I can just lick off the bib."

"I'll give you some to take home."

"I'm totally in love with you."

"Don't tell Jackson." Lorelai said as she walked through the back door.

Sookie started stirring the soup again. "Hey, what did Ray say?" She smiled happily. "Hee he, that rhymes."

"Cletus is fine. He's just got a little cold. But the guests will only be allowed to ride Desdemona for a few days."

"Aww, poor Cletus."

"Well, ladies," Simon put an arm around each of their shoulder. "I came, I delivered the food, got some free soup… Now, I have a five year old to get back to." He dropped his arms. "Lorelai, my darling, love of my life, would you care to walk me to the front door?"

She nodded. "Sure."

They walked out of the kitchen, towards the front door, arm in arm. "You know," Simon said. "If you're not too attached to Luke, you could come home with me tonight."

She laughed and went along with him. "Don't you have a five year old to get back to?"

"My niece. She's going to grandma's tonight."

She shook her head. "How many times did you promise Luke you'd stop hitting on me?"

He pretended to count for a minute. "Umm, fourteen. But today he did tell me that even though he loves you, he'd let you go if you _really_ wanted to be with me."

She stopped when they got to the front porch. "I'm pretty attached to Luke. I mean, I did ask him to marry me."

"Right. I knew that." He dropped her arm then grasped her hands dramatically. "I guess that means it's over for us. You'll get married. I'll…have to start dating before I can do that. But I'll never forget you, Lorelai Victoria Gilmore."

She nodded. "So do you want to come over for a big movie night on Saturday?"

He shrugged. "Sure. Why not."

"Jess is bringing his friend, Matt, from work."

"Oh yea, I know him. He comes into the pub for lunch sometimes."

"Oh, good. Okay. So, I'll see you Saturday."

"Actually I'll be back a little later to pick up some of Sookie's squash soup."

She brought her hand up to her chest. "Ohh, that stuff is fantastic, isn't it."

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Rory shed her jacket as walked into the diner and hung it on the coat rack. Her eyes quickly scanned the room, surprised to see only Caesar, and one of the cashiers from Doose's, whose name she couldn't remember.

"Hey, Caesar." She greeted the cook as she sat down at the counter.

He gave her a wide smile. "Hey, Rory. Are you looking for Jess? Because he's not here."

"Oh, do you know where he is?"

He nodded. "He went back to your house with Luke."

"Hmm." She turned to look out the window for a minute then turned her attention back to him. "That's pretty far away. I think I'm gonna have to eat something before I go."

"Sure. Do you want the usual burger and fries?"

"Actually, can I get a fry/onion ring mix? Ooh, and cheddar instead American on the burger."

"Coming right up." He smiled again and went back to the kitchen.

"Hey, Caesar," She called as she got up and made her way around the counter. "I'm gonna get some coffee, okay?"

"Okay." He yelled back.

She quickly filled a mug and put it in front of her spot on the counter. Then she looked over at the nameless cashier. "Do you want some more coffee?"

His eyes moved up to meet hers. "Me?"

She gestured to the otherwise empty diner. "Unless you can see someone I can't. And in that case, I definitely don't think you should be having caffeine."

"Right." He said with a laugh. "Uh, sure. That'd be great."

She smiled and walked to his table to top off his cup.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

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"Hey there." Simon bumped his hip against Rory's and gave her a big smile.

She stopped under the streetlight in front of the gazebo. "Hey, I didn't know you were in town."

"Yep, been here all day. Though I was gonna say the same to you."

"I just got back from school."

"Where's your car?"

She pointed to where it was sitting outside the diner. "I thought I'd walk."

"You think it's safe for a young innocent girl such as yourself to be walking such dangerous streets this late at night?"

"Well, luckily I ran into a big strong man to protect me from all the dangers of Stars Hollow."

He took the Luke's bag she was carrying, then slid his free arm around her shoulders. "So, it looks like it's not gonna work out with me and Lorelai."

"Aww," She put her arm around his waist. "That's too bad. I was really pulling for you two."

He shrugged. "What's in the bag?"

"Pie. For Mom." She turned her head to look at him. "So, what are you doing in town?"

"I brought my niece to visit."

"Ohh, I didn't know you had a niece. Where is she?"

"My mom actually just picked her up over at the inn. I'm headed back to your house now. There's a big pot of squash soup calling my name."

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"Hello?" Simon yelled, pushing open the front door of the house.

"In here!" Lorelai yelled back from the kitchen.

"Hey," He said. "Look who I ran into."

Lorelai jumped out of her chair at the sight of her daughter. "Rory!" She threw her arms around her. "Did I know you were coming home today?"

"Nope. I'm a surprise. And I come bearing gifts."

Simon held out the Luke's bag. "Here you go."

"Ooh, is it food?"

"Apple pie and blueberry pie." Rory answered.

"Did I ever tell you that you're my favorite daughter?"

"I bet you say that to all your daughters. But that's not the only gift." She looked around the room then back to Lorelai. "Where's Jess and Luke?"

"Luke is outside working on the boat, and Jess is on the phone with, I think, Lily in your room."

"Can you go get Luke? I need to tell you guys something."

Lorelai nodded. "Of course." She ran a hand over Rory's hair then walked out the back door.

"Should I…" Simon gestured towards the front door.

"No, no. Sit. And cheer up, it's good news."

He laughed and sat at the table. "Okay."

She smiled at him. "I'll be right back." She opened her bedroom door and dropped her purse on her desk.

Jess sat with his back to her as he spoke into the phone. "Yea, alright…yes…I promise. I'll call sometime next week…Okay, Sash…tell her I said bye back. Okay, bye." He hung up the phone and turned around.

"How's everything in California?" Rory asked.

"It's good. Sasha made me promise to call more often." He tilted his head as he stared at her. "I thought you weren't coming home until tomorrow night."

"My class got cancelled. You disappointed?"

He stepped forward and slid his hands down her arms to lace their fingers together. "You have no idea."

She kissed him softly then stepped back and started pulling him towards the door. "Come on, I have something to tell everybody."

She pushed him down onto the only empty chair at the kitchen table then stepped back to face him, Lorelai, Luke, and Simon. "Okay." She smiled and rubbed her hands together nervously. "I have a name for the club."


	29. Kingdom Come

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

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"Alright, I know most of the people who are coming live in town," Rory said to Lorelai as they waited for breakfast. "And we could just give Miss Patty the information, and everyone would know in an hour, but invitations are so much nicer."

"And my mother would have an aneurysm if we didn't send them out. On second thought…" She trailed of with a dreamy sigh.

"You're not killing grandma." She took a sip of her coffee and continued. "So, what do you want to put on the invitations?"

"Could we photocopy a picture of my – "

"No."

"Fine." She said dramatically. "Then I guess just something pretty. No fascist leaders."

Rory nodded and made a note on legal pad in front of her. "How do you feel about communists?"

"In general? I love them. They have that whole red thing going on. Red goes very well with my skin tone."

"You're not wearing red to our wedding." Luke said as he set a plate in front of each of them.

"Oh, no." Lorelai placed a hand on his arm. "We were talking about communists."

He nodded. "Of course. I forgot about how often communism came up when you were planning a wedding."

"Silly." She gave him a wide smile. "Oh." She dropped her hand from his arm and picked up her own note pad. "I almost forgot. I picked a song for the first dance and I really happy with it, so tell me what you think."

"Okay."

"I was thinking 'Ja Glory' by Boots Tambada. But if you really want, we could go with 'Let Your Ya Be Ya' but Ranking Roy. That would be totally fine by me."

Luke rolled his eyes and walked away.

"I mean," Lorelai yelled after him. "We already have the CD, so that makes things so much easier."

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"Lorelai Gilmore!"

Lorelai and Rory immediately stopped the fight between the lion and gorilla shaped animal crackers they held. "Sorry." They both muttered, putting the cookies back in the box.

Emily gestured to the maid who immediately took the box. "How many times have I told you you are not to have food in the sitting room? And why would you eat cookies right before dinner? Are our dinners so unsatisfactory that you need to fill up on that garbage?"

Lorelai leaned over to whisper to Rory. "How come she only yelled at me?"

"It's not my fault you raised me to eat cookies before dinner."

She gasped. "Traitor."

Emily gave an exasperated sigh. "I was yelling at both of you. Lorelai Victoria Gilmore and Lorelai Leigh Gilmore, you are both old enough to know better."

"Hah!" Lorelai stuck her tongue out at her daughter.

"Ah, Lorelai, Rory." Richard said happily as he walked into the room.

"Hi, Grandpa." Rory hugged him tightly.

"Hey, Dad."

He smiled then went about making himself a drink. "Rory, why don't you tell us about school? How are your classes?"

"They're great, Grandpa. I just got an A on a paper."

"That's excellent. And how is Jess doing? Things are going well with the club?"

"Yea. Actually we just came up with a name last weekend."

"Oh," Lorelai took the drink her father held out to her. "She's being modest. It's actually times like these I think I took the wrong baby from the hospital." She smiled as her mother shook her head. "She came up with the name all by herself."

Richard took a seat next to his wife and looked at them expectantly.

"Alright," Rory started. "Umm, Paris said something to me the other day about bylines and it made me think about something I read one time. Well, I didn't exactly read it because it was Hemmingway, but I remember seeing it in Luke's apartment and looking through it, but that's beside the point. It made me think of this book that was a collection of Ernest Hemmingway's writings, and since Jess loves Hemmingway, I thought it would be perfect."

"Right. Yes." Richard said. "Byline. I have a copy of that in my study. That's what you're naming the club?"

"_Bylines_. It has a nice ring to it." Emily smiled and took a sip of her drink.

"I think it's an excellent idea." Richard added proudly.

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"Hey, Jess. Man, come in here." Matt yelled from the publishing house's kitchen.

Jess rolled his eyes. "I need to finish editing this."

"It's not even two hundred pages. You should be finished by now."

He marked his spot and stood up. "Have you looked at it? I haven't seen anything spelled right in the past three hours."

"Of course I looked at it. That's why you're editing it."

"Nice." Jess looked around the kitchen and leaned on the counter. "So, where the hell is Chris?"

"He's out with the poet girl." He pointed at the white towel he had draped over something on the table. "You're not gonna ask what's under there?"

He looked at it for a second then shook his head. "No. Personal or professional?"

"Who? Chris? It's supposed to be professional, but I doubt that'll last past eight. Ask what's under the towel."

"Why?"

"Just ask."

"What's under the towel?"

Matt smiled and folded his hands together. "Why, I am so glad you asked. Sitting right here on this very table, under this very towel, is your 'Opening a Club' present."

"My what?"

"Your 'Opening a Club' present. It's kind of like a grand opening present, but you haven't actually opened yet. And there's no way I could have waited until then to give it to you."

Jess nodded his head toward the table. "So what is it?"

You have gotten a present before, right?

"Christ." He muttered.

"Oh come on. Just open it."

"Fine. Fine." Jess reached for the towel and pulled it off the table.

Matt grinned and rocked back on his heels. "Sooooo…" He drew out the word. "What do we think?"

Jess lifted up the framed page and let his eyes scan the words. "Wow. This is great. Man."

"I figured it would go with the theme. _Bylines_ and whatnot. That's an original article. It was never published or anything, but still an original."

"Shit." He put the frame back on the table. "You can't afford this."

"Hey, I know people. You're not the only one with powerful friends."

"If you are, by some chance, referring to Richard and Emily Gilmore, I wouldn't exactly call them friends, more like…bane…?" He nodded. "Yes, bane of my existence."

He shrugged. "Yea, well, my father-in-law knows a guy that had a couple of these and after much begging and quite a few tears, he was willing to part with it. For a semi-reasonable price, I might add. All it cost me was my soul."

"What did you really pay?"

"Okay, I was just kidding earlier, but seriously, have you never gotten a present before?"

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"Okay, I think there were still chunks of horse in that jello-y stuff."

Rory's eyes widened. "The stuff in the cake? I know. I didn't know what to do with the pieces."

Lorelai gave her a smug look. "Did you see how I took a sip of my wine every time I found a piece?"

"Yeah…Oh. Ew! You drank almost the whole glass before we left."

"I would have finished it off if I didn't need to hide horse parts in the bottom of the glass."

Rory cringed. "That's so disgusting."

Lorelai smiled, stopping at a red light. "You know what else is disgusting? Broccoli."

Rory's eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

"I couldn't think of a good segue to Tomorrow's movie night. I was gonna say broccoli is gross so we shouldn't have it at movie night, and use that as a transition, but…"

"But, it was kinda sucky?"

"Yea. Anyway. Movie night. Me, you, Luke, Jess, Simon, Matt. That means we're gonna have to stock up more than usual. And we'll have to buy some healthy crap. So, when we get home we make a list. Candy, frozen food, cookies, produce, the works. And movie wise, I say we go for the double tri-fecta."

"Double tri-fecta?"

"Well, I don't know how to say six fecta. Set-fecta. Whatever. The double tri-fecta. Comedy, horror, romance, drama, classic, animated. We'll let the guys pick which ones to watch tomorrow, then we can have a mother-daughter day on Sunday and finish them off. Savvy?"

Rory got a dreamy look on her face. "Sigh, Johnny Depp."

Lorelai grinned. "Now, that's how you segue."

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"Imagine me and you."

"I do. I think about you day and night."

"It's only right to think about the girl you love."

"And hold her tight."

Luke smiled widely at the pair as the danced, arm in arm, into the diner.

"So happy together!" They finished with a flourish.

"I take it dinner went well." Luke said, immediately reaching for the coffee pot.

Lorelai slid onto the stool next to her daughter and smiled at Luke. "Lord, no. That was on in the car somewhere between the eye-popping nausea and route 44. And really who doesn't love The Turtles? Hell, not even the band, just turtles in general."

"That's true." Rory agreed.

"It doesn't even matter what kind of turtles. Box, Snapping, Mock, Teenage Mutant Ninja."

"They're all so cute."

Lorelai suddenly gasped. "Ooh! We should go –"

"No!" Resounded from around the room, cutting her off.

She turned around, to see the horrified looks on everyone in the diner. "What?"

"You are not getting a turtle." Rory continued. "The guy at the pet store said the last one was supposed to outlive us. He didn't even last a month."

Lorelai glared at them as she folded her arms across her chest and let out an annoyed sigh. "Fine."


	30. All the Young Dudes

Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

A/N: So it's been what, a year and a half? That's a long time with no updates, but to anyone who's still reading this, here you go. I hope you enjoy.

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Lorelai glanced behind her as she pushed a junk-food loaded cart down the frozen food aisle at Doose's. Taylor was about six feet behind her straightening the bread shelf. She rolled her eyes then turned back around.

Rory stopped next to the cart and dropped a three frozen pizzas and two bag of tater-tots in. "I think we need more of those frozen mozzarella sticks."

"Why are we even getting frozen pizzas? I'm ordering real pizza when we get home."

"Oh, this is Yale pizza. I was running low."

"Hey! We are not Yale shopping. We're movie night shopping." Lorelai took the pizza out of the cart and handed it to her daughter. "No Yale pizza."

"Why?"

Lorelai looked at her like that was the stupidest question she ever heard. "Uh, because then it's gonna be in my house _all day_ tomorrow, and I naturally will have to eat it."

"Or, you could just leave it in the freezer and _not_ eat it." Rory put it back in the cart.

She shook her head and picked it up again. "I can't do that. I'll know it's there and it'll call to me. You know I can't resist the call of a pizza."

She tore the pizzas out of her mother's hands and walked away, calling over her shoulder as she walked. "How 'bout the call of the crazy house? Can you resist that?"

"Been doing it for years, baby!" She looked behind her again to see Taylor inching closer to her none too subtly. "Taylor! I am not shoplifting!"

He looked up suddenly from where he was studying a stack of canned peas, pretending that he just noticed she was there. "Of course you're not shoplifting, Lorelai. Why would you even say that?"

She crossed her arms in front of her. "Maybe because you've been following me for the past twenty minutes."

"I have _no idea_ what you're talking about."

"Oh, cut the crap, Taylor. What do you want?"

He took a couple steps toward her, trying to be nonchalant. "Well, if you must know. I heard from…someone that you and Luke wanted to get married in the square."

"First of all, you heard it from _me _because the whole time I was going over my wedding plans yesterday you had your face pressed against that stupid window staring at me."

"I was not!"

"I had to move to a different table 'cause you were creeping me out so much. Now, why are you suddenly so interested in where I'm getting married?"

"Well, I noticed that neither you nor Luke has gotten the necessary papers to have an event of that size in the town square. And you know it really is better if you take care of it ahead of time. I know you Lorelai, and you can be a little…scatterbrained sometimes. You don't want to wake up on the big day and realize you forgot to get the necessary paperwork, do you?"

"Go away, Taylor."

He held up a hand hesitantly. "Now, Lorelai…"

"Taylor! Seriously. We'll get the paperwork. There's still six more weeks till the wedding."

"Well…"

She rolled her eyes and groaned. "Well, what?"

"The committee would prefer if you filed the papers at least two weeks in advance. So there's time to evaluate it."

"Evaluate it?"

"Of course, we can't just go approving every outrageous request someone puts in."

Her jaw dropped in disbelief. "I swear, Taylor, if you don't go away right now…And stop saying 'we'! There's no 'we'! There's no committee. There's just you! You and your big stupid head."

Taylor scoffed, insulted, and finally went back to his work.

Rory grinned and dropped a couple bags of baby carrots and some celery into the cart. "What did Taylor and his big stupid head do now?"

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"Hey, man." Simon called into the kitchen as he walked behind the counter to pour himself a cup of coffee.

Luke came out and immediately rolled his eyes. "Why does everyone think it's okay to come behind my counter?" He gripped the younger man by the shoulders and guided him back to the other side. "This is your side. That is my side."

He pointed where they standing. "People who don't work here." And then to the back. "People who do work here. Got it?"

Simon nodded and grinned. "Yep."

"Good. Maybe tonight you can explain it to Lorelai."

"Yeah, so you excited about movie night?"

He shrugged and went back to his side. "I have mixed feelings about movie nights. Just thinking about what they eat when they watch movies makes me want to kill myself. So actually witnessing it…"

"Right." He sat at the counter. "Best to be avoided."

"Yea, but, then on the other hand, it's nice to see them together. Just relaxing and having fun. No inn, no Yale. It's just nice."

They both looked over when the door flew open.

"Big Brother!"

Luke moved to hug his sister. "Hey. Liz. I thought you and TJ were going back out on the faire circuit."

She waved the thought off. "Oh, we were. Change of plans."

"Why? What happened?" He walked them over to the nearest table and they both sat down.

"Oh, nothing. Stop worrying. Anyway, Luke, I have such exciting news!"

He leaned back in his seat. "Uh-oh."

"Would you stop that. It's good news."

"Well, what is it Liz? I am at work."

She waved an arm around the room. "Simon's the only one here. Besides I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Well, I want to tell you and Jess together. So I thought we could have a nice family dinner and tell you the good news. Tomorrow night. TJ's making chicken fajitas and smiley face french fries."

"I guess I have to come if there's…smiley fries."

"Oh, yay!" She jumped up and threw her arms around him.

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A very agitated Jess stormed through Lorelai's front door, talking loudly into the cell phone held against his ear. "No! Luke, just, no. I already have plans tomorrow night…not having dinner with Liz…I don't care if she has news. I'm not going…I'm not spending two hours in a room with TJ…because he's a moron…"

Lorelai glanced up from her magazine and gave a small wave.

Jess nodded in greeting then rolled his eyes at something his uncle said. "How important…fine. But I'm not staying longer than an hour and a half…yeah, whatever…alright. Bye."

He closed the phone and dropped onto the couch with a groan of annoyance. "God, she's a pain in the ass."

Lorelai stared at him seriously. "Hey, are you doing anything tomorrow night?"

He grinned as he grabbed the remote off the coffee table. "Nope. Not a thing."

She smiled brightly. "Great. I have to pick some stuff up from my mother's. You can come with."

His shoulders slumped. "Damn it." He muttered before continuing, louder. "Oh, shoot. I can't. Luke and I are going to Liz's for dinner. Must've slipped my mind."

"It's weird how those things happen."

He nodded in agreement then turned around at a knock at the door. Before either could get up to answer it, Simon gently pushed it open. "Hey," he called. "I come bearing delicious, sugary treats."

Lorelai bounced giddily out of her seat as a plate of rice crispie treats appeared in front of him. "Oh my god, a man who brings me food that's bad for me! Luke never does that. What do I see in him?"

"Oh! I know this one." Simon raised his hand then briefly pointed at her. "You love him."

She tilted her head to the side in contemplation. "Love or rice crispie treats?" She brightened visibly. "Oh, that is so gonna be the name of our first single when Rory and I put our band together."

He handed over the plate he was holding and Lorelai smiled happily. "You are the perfect man."

"Oh, you." He waved it off then paused for a second before shrugging. "Well, yeah. I am." He glanced around the empty room. "So when do the festivities start?"

"Oh, not for an hour. But since you're here guess what you get to do."

"Dig into to this beautiful pile of marshmallow squares?"

She clasped her hands together with an audible clap. "No. You get to help set up."

He held up a hand and took a step back. "Whoa, I was promised pre-made junk food, stimulating cinematography, and fun-to-be-had-by-all. Not," He lowered his voice to a whisper, as if he were saying a dirty word. "_preparation._ That takes the shine off the entire evening."

She raised her eyebrows in amusement. "I need someone to run to the video store to pick up to movies too."

He threw his hands in the air. "You have now _sullied_ this wonderful experience."

Jess got up and shoved his friend toward the kitchen. "Dude, shut the hell up." He laughed.

Lorelai nodded at the now empty living room. "That's more like it."

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The entire coffee table was covered with food by the time Rory drifted into the house, followed closely by Matt. She moved immediately to the kitchen to greet Jess, while Matt lingered in the living room with Simon and Lorelai. Luke was the last to arrive, shortly before eight.

It was quickly decided that they would start the night off with horror, and then follow up with comedy, when Matt informed the group he would only be able to stay for two movies. "The wife wants me home before one. We've got brunch with the in-laws tomorrow, and apparently it's easier for them to pretend to like me if I'm well rested. I don't know."

So they settled in quickly. Luke on one end of the couch, with Lorelai curled into his side, and Simon on the other while Rory and Jess sat on the floor in front of them, arms wrapped around each other. Matt reclined comfortably in the chair beside the sofa.

They watched the horror movie intently, but none too quietly, with Lorelai, Rory, and Simon keeping up a running commentary.

"…go in the basement? There's only one way in or out. She might as well go hide in the closet and…"

"…has worked perfectly this entire movie but the killer's coming and suddenly it takes five tries to start…"

"…right behind you! Turn around! No! Look behind..."

What seemed like barely minutes later the credits were rolling and Lorelai was jumping up to refill drinks and toss another bag of popcorn in the microwave. "Rory, can you give me a hand in the kitchen?" She paused for a second. "Whoa. Never thought those words would come out of my mouth." She shook her head and disappeared through the doorway.

When Rory got to the kitchen the popcorn was already in the microwave and Lorelai was hiding behind the doorframe staring at the living room."

"What are you doing?"

Lorelai grabbed her daughter's hand and pulled her to her side. "Look."

She did.

Luke and Matt were discussing something quietly while Jess and Simon tossed m&m's at each other. "Yeah? Your boyfriend is more mature than mine? What?"

They moved further into the kitchen to talk. "There's boys in the house. It's weird."

Rory smiled. "I think it's kinda nice."

"But you're used to it. Jess and Simon practically live in your dorm room. Which Paris must love." She added sarcastically.

"You have no idea."

"But this is the Crap Shack. It's always just been you and me. I mean, I know Luke lives here now but it's different when we're outnumbered."

"I like it."

"So do I. What do you think that means?"

Rory mulled it over for a second before answering. "I think it means we're growing up."

"Scary, huh?"

She nodded. "Almost as scary as Paris."

Lorelai's eyes strayed to the living room once more and mischievous look crossed her face. Before Rory could ask about it she let out an ear piercing shriek.

Less than five seconds passed and the kitchen was suddenly a lot more crowded. Four very worried men surveyed the room for any signs of danger.

"What happened?" Luke asked frantically.

She stared at him innocently. "There was a spider. It was huge. David Arquette would've been freaked."

Rory agreed automatically, gesturing to the open window. "It escaped."

A feeling of relief passed over the group as Jess moved to shut the window. The guys slowly disappeared back into the living room.

Rory turned on Lorelai, eyes wide. "What the hell?"

She shrugged. "I wanted to see what they'd do. Now I know. It makes me feel very safe."

"Yeah, thank god they're here. Who else would protect you from the giant imaginary spiders? You know, one day, there'll be no one here to save you from your delusions. And then come the men with the butterfly nets."


End file.
